Medécins Sans Frontières Reports – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1137

Medécins Sans Frontières Reports – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1137

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1137 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

Preamble

Médecins Sans Frontieres is a France-based, international independent medical humanitarian organization mainly comprising of doctors but open to all professionals, who relate with the organization’s goals. MSF works across several countries and regions. Here are excerpts from few current reports.

PALESTINE

23 July 23, 2025 – Mass Starvation

As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, Palestine, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organizations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.

Exactly two months since the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating, more than 100 organizations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism; end the siege; and agree to a ceasefire now. 

“Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?” said one agency representative.

Massacres at food distribution sites in Gaza are occurring near-daily. As of 13 July, the UN confirmed 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, 201 on aid routes and the rest at distribution points; thousands more have been injured. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians with the most recent mass displacement order issued on 20 July, confining Palestinians to less than 12 per cent of Gaza. The World Food Program warns that current conditions make operations untenable. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.

Just outside Gaza, in warehouses - and even within Gaza itself - tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched, with humanitarian organizations blocked from accessing or delivering them. The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death. An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children: “Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.” 

Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and older people.4 Illnesses like acute watery diarrhea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration. Distributions in Gaza average just 28 trucks a day, far from enough for over two million people, many of whom have gone weeks without assistance.

The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed; it has been prevented from functioning.

Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale. But, with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams. On 10 July, the European Union and Israel announced steps to scale up aid.5 But these promises of ‘progress’ ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses. Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive.

23 July 2025 – Premature Babies Fighting for Life – Dr. Joanne Perry Shares her Experience

It started with two babies sharing one incubator – this is already completely unacceptable and shocking to see. Then it increased to three, and last week we saw five babies in one incubator. With all the attacks on healthcare facilities, today there are just 36 incubators in northern Gaza, compared to 126 before October 2023.

Having several babies sharing one incubator increases their chances of infection. The immune systems of newborns, especially premature ones, are not yet developed. To support the neurodevelopment of premature babies, we use rolled blankets or other soft materials to create a boundary around the infant, mimicking the supportive environment of the womb. This is called the nesting technique. This position helps stabilize the baby's posture, reduces excessive limb movements, and promotes physiological and behavioral stability. 

One reason we are seeing so many premature babies is because of the deterioration of their mothers’ health. This is my third time in Gaza over the past year, what’s different now is that pregnant mothers are severely underweight, severely anemic. This can contribute to complications during pregnancy – including premature labor. 

Additionally, pregnant women are living in horrible conditions: in overcrowded shelters or tents, with almost no access to clean water for washing. Many have no access to prenatal care due to limited functioning facilities and repeated displacement. This means risky pregnancies often go undetected until complications arise – sometimes too late.  

21 July 2025 – Never Ending Violence by Israeli Settlers and Military

The constant fear of aggression and violence, which is being committed by Israeli settlers and armed forces, is taking a massive toll on the mental health of Palestinians in the West Bank, Palestine, especially for people living in Hebron’s southern countryside, in areas like Masafer Yatta. There, the daily threats of forcible transfer, injury, and, as we have seen in recent weeks, possible death, is ever present. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) operates mobile clinics in the area but various security concerns, including the escalating settlers’ violence, have severely disrupted our activities.

“We are currently seeing multiple home demolitions by Israeli forces who have come to villages in Masafer Yatta numerous times,” says Frederieke Van Dongen, humanitarian affairs manager in Hebron. “Some villages have had up to 85 per cent of their homes demolished. The practices and policies of the Israeli government to reportedly annex the West Bank are impacting the physical and mental health of our patients. Attacks from settlers, who are often accompanied by the Israeli army, are happening on an almost daily basis now, and these attacks are becoming more violent, resulting in more injuries and hospitalisation.”

9 July 2025 – Almost Half of People Killed are Children

A recent retrospective mortality survey of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff and their families in Gaza, Palestine, reveals the appalling death rate of Israel’s all-out war on the Strip, especially among children. Compared to pre-7 October 2023 Ministry of Health mortality rate estimates, the mortality rate among surveyed MSF staff and their families during the war was five times higher. For children under five, mortality increased tenfold. For babies less than one month, the mortality rate was six times higher.

The survey, run by MSF’s epidemiological arm, Epicentre, covered 2,523 people (MSF colleagues and their family members) over the period between October 2023 and March 2025. The survey results showed that of the people who were alive on 7 October 2023, more than two per cent of them had died since that date; seven per cent had been injured. Furthermore, three-quarters of the deaths were due to war injuries, the vast majority of those from blasts.

Forty-eight per cent of the people who died from blast injuries among our colleagues’ households were children; 40 per cent were under 10 years old.   

Sum Up

Nothing to sum up except that it is a sad commentary on the conscience of all nations; Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Concluded.

Disclaimers: Pictures in these blogs are taken from free resources at Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Google. Credit is given where available. If a copyright claim is lodged, we shall remove the picture with appropriate regrets.

For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, any claim is lodged, it will be acknowledged and recognized duly.

Reference:

https://www.msf.org/palestine