By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — The international medical group Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) has condemned the restrictions on humanitarian aid in Gaza, warning that these measures are aggravating an already dire situation for civilians.
MSF expressed concern over a proposed system led by the United States and Israel to control aid distribution, stating it could be used to displace civilians further and undermine neutral relief efforts.
“The US-Israel proposition to control the distribution of supplies under the guise of humanitarian aid raises grave humanitarian, ethical, security, and legal concerns,” the group said in an emailed statement on May 21. “[MSF] firmly rejects and condemns any plan that further reduces availability of aid and subjugates it to Israeli military occupation objectives.”
The group said linking humanitarian aid to displacement continues what it called “the ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.”
MSF pointed out that blocking aid violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 2720, which demands that involved parties “allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip…”
It stated that Israel, as the occupying power, must ensure that aid reaches Gaza. It also indicated that allegations of Hamas diverting aid remain unverified and do not justify aid restrictions.
“We are witnessing, in real time, the creation of conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza,” the group added.
MSF urged the United Nations, European Union member states, and other influential parties to “urgently use their political and economic leverage to stop the instrumentalization of aid.”
The group reported worsening conditions in Gaza since Israel resumed military operations and imposed a total blockade on March 2. It stated that Palestinians now face severe shortages of food, water, medical care, and shelter.
Organizations, including World Central Kitchen and the World Food Programme, have reportedly run out of food supplies. Most community kitchens and bakeries have shut down.
“The borders need to open for World Central Kitchen to be able to feed people in need,” said WCK Gaza Response Director Wadhah Hubaishi. “If given full access to our infrastructure, partnerships, and incoming supplies, we are capable of providing hungry families in Gaza with 500,000 meals a day.”
In a report dated May 12, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) stated that 470,000 people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger, with the entire population experiencing acute food insecurity. It projects that over 71,000 children and 17,000 mothers will require urgent treatment for malnutrition, up from 60,000 children earlier this year.
In Gaza City, MSF teams recorded a 32 percent increase in malnutrition cases over the past two weeks. Fuel shortages have disrupted water desalination and distribution. The remaining health facilities face critical supply gaps, especially in sterile medical items. MSF said its teams have received no medical supplies for 11 weeks.
Israeli evacuation orders and military no-go zones now cover 70 percent of Gaza, the group added. Many civilians have been repeatedly displaced amid ongoing attacks. MSF reported that some patients returned with new injuries shortly after being treated and released.
“Israel’s plan to instrumentalize aid is a cynical response to the very humanitarian crisis they created,” MSF said. “If they wished, Israel and its allies could lift the blockade today and let humanitarian aid reach all those in Gaza whose survival depends on it.”#nordis.net