Urgent Health Updates: Consequences of war on Gaza-May 12, 2024

This week has been increasingly horrific as Israeli troops moved into Rafah and up to 300,000 Palestinians fled (again). Humanitarian aid has stopped with the closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. There is continued obstruction to aid, more evidence for widespread starvation. Nonviolent campus protests are spreading with repeated aggressive police responses while a few campuses have agreed to discuss divestment from investments in Israel. Use this info to pressure elected officials and to join protests everywhere. Wear a white coat, a stethoscope, make it clear you are a health care worker! Make your voice heard on this anniversary of the first Nakba in 1948.

People leaving Rafah 5/7/24

Israeli bombardment from the air, land, & sea continues to be reported across much of Gaza, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, & destruction of houses & other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions & heavy fighting continue to be reported south of Gaza City & in eastern Rafah, including the area of Kerem Shalom & Rafah crossings. A massive humanitarian crisis is only becoming more catastrophic.  

PUBLICATIONS  

The protracted conflict in Gaza has profound repercussions on the health of its residents, particularly those managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension. We aim to highlight the struggles of these unaccounted victims of war and the compounded challenges they face due to medication scarcity & disruptions in primary health-care facilities. Read the report in The Lancet.

An urgent call to protect humanitarian workers in Gaza. There is a disturbing global trend that saw a record 260 aid workers killed in 2023, marking a 120% increase from the previous year, with 60 more fatalities recorded in the first quarter of 2024 alone.  These numbers underscore the perilous conditions faced by those providing essential services in conflict zones such as Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, and Sudan. This report was also published in The Lancet.

DAY 219

Numbers are cumulative

GAZA

·       Killed: >34,904, (as of 4/30 - of 24,686 identified - 40% men, 20% women, 32% children, 8% elderly)

·       Injured: >78,514

·       Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza: 266

·       Israeli soldiers injured in Gaza: 1,610

·       >260 aid workers killed

         191 UN staff

         27 Palestinian Red Crescent Society staff & volunteers

         42 other aid workers

·       493 health workers killed including ~15 also counted under aid workers

·       69 civil defense staff killed on duty

·       142 journalists & media workers killed

·       12 hospitals (out of 36) partially functioning, 3 in North Gaza, 3 in Gaza City, 2 in Deir al Balah, 2 in Khan Younis, 2 in Rafah

·       7 field hospitals operational

·       71% of primary health care centers not functional

·       33% of UNRWA health centers operational

·       >710,000 cases of acute respiratory infections

·       >380,000 cased of acute watery diarrhea

·       million facing catastrophic food insecurity

·       Director of the UN World Food Program Cindy McCain, declared parts of Gaza were in ‘full-blown famine.’ With starvation entrenched in northern Gaza, she said it is ‘moving its way south.’

·       >50,000 children acutely malnourished

·       1,125 children hospitalized for severe acute malnutrition

·       ~17,000 children unaccompanied or separated from family

·       Between 5/1-9: 9 humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza facilitated by Israeli authorities, 5 denied, 11 impeded, 7 cancelled

·       In southern Gaza: 24 aid missions facilitated, 9 denied, 3 impeded, 9 cancelled.

·       5/7 Israeli forces took control of Rafah crossing so no aid or aid workers are getting in or out. Unless fuel is immediately allowed in, 5 hospitals, 5 field hospitals, 28 ambulances, 23 medical facilities, 17 primary health care centers will sustain operations for < 48 hours.

·       8 World Food Program supported bakeries in southern Gaza ceased operations, 4 will fun out of fuel & supplies in 3 days

·       Closure of Rafah & Karem Shalom crossings means no fuel, trucks, generators, water, electricity or movement of people or goods, no medical transfers. Existing med supplies will last ~3 weeks. Food & fuel a few days

·       Without fuel to run generators, there is a critical risk of losing patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU), including newborns in neonatal ICUs, trauma patients requiring emergency surgeries & pregnant women in need of caesarian sections. Patients suffering from kidney failure would be deprived of vital hemodialysis treatment

·       Israel ordered central Rafah residents to evacuate as a major offensive loomed. Israeli forces dropped leaflets calling for the evacuation of “all residents and displaced people.” Many of those fleeing Rafah were heading for the “expanded humanitarian zone”, designated by the IDF at al-Mawasi on the coast, where aid workers said conditions were already “horrific”.

·       Rafah: >110,000 people displaced from Rafah to Khan Younis & Deir al Balah & facing dire shortages of shelter, food, water, sanitation, some paid 1,500-2,000 NIS transportation fees, 600,000 Palestinian children in Rafah can’t ‘evacuate’ safely, UNICEF official says. Reports now say up to 300,000 have fled.

·       Airstrikes on Rafah began despite mounting ceasefire pressure. Palestinians in Gaza were thrown into confusion by Hamas’s acceptance of a deal, followed by Israel’s skeptical response & bomb attacks.

·       All key medical facilities in Rafah could soon become inaccessible or inoperable, Health Cluster partners warn, as An Najjar Hospital - 1 of 3 remaining in Rafah -was already abruptly vacated on 5/7

·       5/8 4th mass grave discovered at Shifa Hospital for a total of 8, 4 at Shifa, 3 at Nasser Medical complex, 1 at Kamal Adwan Hospital, >520 bodies recovered, including women & children, with many showing signs of torture & summary executions

·       Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh said Hamas accepted Egypt & Qatar’s ceasefire/hostage release proposal. On 5/5 negotiations hit impasse, Cairo stalled & Hamas left the city.

·       Charles (Mungo) Birch, who oversees the UN Mine Action Service in the Palestinian territories, issued a warning about the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance in Gaza. Birch said that more unexploded missiles & bombs have fallen in Gaza than anywhere in the world since at least WW2.

·       With schools in ruins, education in Gaza will be hobbled for years. Most of Gaza’s schools, including all its universities, have severe damage that makes them unusable, which could harm an entire generation.

WEST BANK AND EAST JERUSALEM

·       >497 Palestinians killed in West Bank & East Jerusalem as Israeli night raids & arrest waves continue, including village of Duma

·       794 settler attacks since 10/7

·       Israeli Supreme Court rules in favor of the return of 360 Palestinians to their homes in Khirbet Zanouta herding community in Hebron 6 months following their displacement due to settler attacks. 

·       UNRWA will shutter its East Jerusalem headquarters after the compound was set on fire by “Israeli extremists” while staff were inside. Arson attack was the latest in a series of threats, harassment & violent incidents perpetrated by Israelis against the agency’s staff over the past 2 months

ISRAEL

·       Netanyahu’s cabinet unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel. Israeli Police raided the channel’s Jerusalem office & confiscated equipment. Critics denounced this as anti-democratic & part of a broader crackdown on dissent over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

·       Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza for the passage of aid after rockets fired from Rafah killed 4 Israeli soldiers. Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel & Gaza reopened and has since closed again.

·       Israel claims operation in Rafah is “limited” but on-the-ground reports document extensive attacks & massive civilian infrastructure destruction, injuries, & death.

·       Hezbollah announced attacking Israeli army’s northern division headquarters with rockets. Israel admitted 1 soldier killed & several wounded.

US

·       US has halted an ammunition shipment to Israel. The decision by Biden marks first time since the 10/7th attack & the first time ever for this administration that such a shipment has been halted. Biden said last week in a “law and order speech” that the student protests were having no effect on US policy, but actions speak louder than words & this action is significant. Many in Arab & activist communities say this is a little too late.

·       Biden acknowledged that American bombs have been used to kill Palestinian civilians.

·       Israeli forces do not need these bombs to invade Rafah. They have more than enough stockpiles to reduce it to rubble. But US officials are talking of this as a hinge point in the US-Israel relationship.

·       AIPAC called on Congress to challenge Biden to reverse its decision to pause a shipment of bombs to Israel given concerns over Rafah.

·       Protests involving students & faculty at universities all over the country have mostly been met with aggressive police crackdowns while some administrations have agreed to discuss divestment from Israeli companies & calls for a cease fire.

INTERNATIONAL

·       US, EU, France, Saudi Arabia, & Egypt called on Israel to forego an assault on Rafah.

·       UN general assembly overwhelmingly passed the resolution for the UN security council to reconsider & support the full membership of Palestine into the UN; 143 countries supported it, 9 voted against & 25 abstained. Gilad Erdan, UN delegate of Israel, accused the intentional body of attempting to allow a “terror state” into its membership.

·       UN special rapporteur on torture Alice Edwards is asking Arab states to shoulder the responsibility for the refugees that Israel created. Legally, Israel as well must let them in as the state that is responsible for their displacement & the denial of their rights.

SOURCES

OCHAOPT, Aljazeera, Haaretz, New York Times, The Guardian, Fellowship of Reconciliation, New Yorker, The Intercept, Democracy Now, CNN, Al-Monitor, Mondoweiss, AP, ABC News