As evacuation orders expire in northern Gaza, MSF calls for protection of civilians

October 14, 2023—As a humanitarian corridor Israeli authorities decreed today in northern Gaza expires, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is extremely worried about the fate of people who will not be able to leave, such as the wounded, the sick, those with disabilities, and medical staff. 

We fear for their lives, as the Israeli military announced today that significant ground operations are imminent, said the international medical humanitarian organization.

MSF is calling for safe zones to remain in the north and for regular ceasefires. It is also calling for people who wish to flee to be allowed to do so through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, without prejudice to the right to return. MSF has asked for its Palestinian staff who wish to leave to be evacuated.

Below is a statement from Avril Benoît, Executive Director of MSF-USA:

"Despite Israeli announcements suggesting that there are safe areas for people trapped in the Gaza Strip, they are in fact exposed to bombardment throughout the entire territory, including in the south, where tens of thousands of Palestinians fled on Friday following an evacuation order from the Israeli military. 

"The evacuation order for 1.1 million people to move in a few hours to an already overpopulated neighborhood with precarious access to food, water, and health care is dangerous and intolerable. 

"Already, our teams are witnessing that drinking water is scarce in the south of the Gaza Strip, a hardship that adds to people’s distress.

"MSF urgently calls for the restoration of sufficient and immediate access to drinking water for people trapped in Gaza. Lives depend on it."