On October 14, an Israeli airstrike targeted an area housing displaced people inside the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-supported Al-Aqsa Hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, resulting in 65 wounded and 5 dead. The hospital compound has been hit seven times since March 2024, including three times within the last month.
“It’s a scene of devastation,” says Eliza Sabatini, MSF nurse. “Tents caught on fire while people were sleeping. The hospital treated 40 patients, including 10 children and 8 women; many of them with severe burns. Twenty-five more injured patients had to be referred due to the lack of capacity.”
A few hours before the airstrike on the hospital compound, another strike hit a school used as a shelter in Nuseirat camp, north of Deir al-Balah. Dozens of wounded people were brought to Al-Aqsa, overwhelming the hospital and medical staff.
“Successive mass casualty incidents like these would be very difficult for any well-equipped hospital,” says Sabatini. “In Gaza, where we continue to face heavy restrictions on medical supplies, it is simply impossible to provide adequate care for the patients.”
Repeated attacks on medical facilities in Gaza must end. Health structures and medical staff must be protected at all times, and warring parties must respect hospital grounds.
People in Gaza are trapped under relentless bombings. A ceasefire is needed now to stop this bloodshed.
