The Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, "Cast Lead," launched on 27th December, 2008, killed 1,300 Palestinians (including 900 civilians, 300 of whom were children) and injured 5,300 more in 22 days. Given what many considered as Israel's disproportionate response and the number of civilian victims, public opinion was widely opposed to the war.
Hospital emergency departments were besieged by wounded patients. Jan 2009
Photo by Mustafa Hassona
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip were flooded with wounded patients. The morgues were full and bodies had to be placed in other rooms. Intensive care units, emergency rooms and operating rooms were overwhelmed too. There was a shortage of health care workers. Those who managed to reach the hospitals were exhausted, but worked to respond to the situation. Many amputations were performed on an emergency basis.
The civilian population of the Gaza Strip - 1.5 million people, 50 percent of whom are children - was trapped, unable to flee the world's most densely population region. No one expected such intense violence. "Some lost close friends and family members or their home and some prepared their children for death," explains Elina Pelekanou, an MSF psychologist. Everyone suffered, experiencing stress, anxiety and constant terror. They remain traumatized today.
An ambulance destroyed by the bombing. Jan 2009 Photo by MSF
The violence of the conflict and the resulting insecurity led to the violation of humanitarian space and aid organisations were often unable to provide help. Hospitals, ambulances and NGO convoys were even targeted by shooting and bombing.
The damage resulting from air and naval bombing and the land incursion is still visible and bears witness to the violence of the Israeli offensive. There were few, if any, periods of calm during the 22 days of war. "A terrible human catastrophe is occurring right before our eyes and the worst is that humanitarian aid actors are there, but there is nothing they can do," Jessica Pourraz, MSF programme manager for the Gaza Strip, said then.
Jabalya, Gaza Strip, Jan 2009 Photo by Bruno Stevens/Cosmos
People whose houses were destroyed now live in the ruins or in tents. "They have lost everything -- roof, privacy, dignity and social status," says MSF psychologist, Elina Pelekanou. The embargo, which was imposed on the Gaza Strip in 2006, prohibits the entry of all building materials and equipment.
The blockade also limits the entry of food and humanitarian and medical materiel. There are shortages of food, electricity, drinking water, medicine and medical supplies. Closure, isolation and restrictions have continued to worsen an already harsh situation. The impacts affect access to medical care and the population’s general health status. Eighty-five percent of the people who live there are completely reliant on humanitarian aid. The January 2009 war only deepened the existing economic and social depression.
A child is examined by an MSF Palestinian member of staff. Jan 2009 Photo by Mustafa Hassona
During the war, MSF's teams in the field (three expatriates and 60 Palestinians) regularly donated medicines and medical supplies to hospitals and sites where Gaza's displaced persons were gathered. Furnished with emergency medical kits, MSF’s Palestinian doctors and nurses, furnished with emergency medical kits, treated 275 of their wounded and/or ill neighbors who could not reach medical facilities.
Just after the ceasefire, an emergency surgical team and 21 tons of supplies and equipment (including two inflatable hospital tents) were finally able to enter Gaza City. Two operating rooms were set up in the tents. Over a six-month period, 303 specialised surgeries were performed, including the removal of external fixators, skin grafts, wound debridement and post-burn contracture release, and approximately 1,300 medical consultations were held.
A child being treated for 2nd degree burns on the face, neck and upper torso - a result of the shelling of her house by the Israeli army. Jan 2009 Photo by Bruno Stevens/Cosmos
During the war, our post-operative care and physical therapy clinics in Gaza City treated between 20 and 50 patients every day. From January to June 2009, MSF provided 757 patients with this kind of care, either at one of its three clinics or via one of its seven mobile teams. Six hundred dressings were applied and approximately 950 physical therapy sessions were held every week.
A child with her drawing of the war. Jan 2009 Photo by MSF
Mental health care was also expanded. Since the war's end, our team of psychologists has treated 393 patients and held 5,831 consultations. To deal with the post-war situation, address the shortages and meet the needs to the extent possible, MSF has changed the scale of its activities, doubled the number of staff and expanded the scope of operations to the entire Gaza Strip.