A doctor from Doctors Without Borders in Khan Yunis: “The noise from drones is part of our lives and a sign that our situation is deteriorating.”
Nicholas Papachrysostomou is the emergency coordinator of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza and has released an audio message in which he tells how the situation in the south of the Gaza Strip is deteriorating day by day, with more bombings, more deaths and more displaced people. This is a verbatim transcription of the most powerful parts of his message:
“The noise from drones is part of our lives and shows that our situation is worsening day by day. The ground operation in the south, around Khan Yunis, is a reality. The sounds of fighting can be heard a few kilometers from the MSF team’s location. Shrapnel, tanks, bombings… It’s not just airstrikes; We are talking about a crisis and that has consequences. The death toll has exploded. The number of injured has exploded.
The orders are always the same: “This neighborhood must be evacuated, this neighborhood too”… It’s always the same. And services, such as access to healthcare, must move with people. We had to close two primary care clinics because they were in neighborhoods where evacuation orders were issued. Stopping our support of these clinics is a crucial consequence. In seven days, at the clinic where my team was, we treated 1,800 patients before departure, more than half of whom were displaced. One in five was younger than five years. The Ministry of Health is of course there and is trying, but they can’t cope, the staff is exhausted, they need help.”
Papachrysostomou also pointed out the situation of two hospitals that are still operating:
“Al Aqsa is an overcrowded hospital. In the last 48 hours, the team has seen 100 dead and 400 injured… After brutal bombings, people arrive too late. The stories they tell us are hard to believe.
In Al-Nasr Hospital, there are thousands of displaced people, people sleeping around the hospital, there are families on the floor, there is no space for anything. The hospital won’t take it anymore. His days are numbered. “There are hundreds of shops, tents, people who have entered incomplete buildings.”
Papachrysostomou ended his message by calling for an end to attacks on humanitarian facilities and a long-term ceasefire to allow help to arrive. “We have to restart everything and to do that we have to stop everything that is happening now.”