DRC: MSF statement on the WHO Director-General’s high-level visit to Bunia

Two hygienists disinfects an ambulance which carried a suspected Ebola case in the Butembo Ebola isolation center.

DRC: MSF statement on the WHO Director-General’s high-level visit to Bunia

Dr Alan Gonzalez, deputy director of operations for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), provides a statement on the occasion of a high-level visit to Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Two weeks after the declaration of the Ebola disease outbreak in Ituri province, DRC, the situation is deeply alarming and a legitimate source of anxiety for communities and frontline health workers alike.

Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration.

Like everyone in the affected areas, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are witnessing a response that has not yet caught up to the rapid spread of the epidemic.

Unlike most previous Ebola disease outbreaks, this one involves the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or specific treatments, and which is particularly difficult to diagnose due to limited testing capacity.

The reality today is that nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak.

New suspected cases are being reported daily, yet hundreds of samples remain untested.

At the same time, major constraints, including border and airport closures, continue to delay the arrival of critical medical supplies, humanitarian aid, and specialised personnel. We know from experience that these measures severely hinder outbreak response, and isolate countries that urgently need international support.

This outbreak is making those consequences painfully clear.

The number of expert medical organisations responding on the ground is still far too limited, and the level of support being provided – including our own – falls far short of what is needed.

People urgently need a response that matches the scale of the crisis they are facing.

To bring the situation under even partial control, there must be an immediate expansion of testing capacity.

This must be accompanied by a rapid, coordinated and tailored scale-up of the overall response, supported by experienced medical and humanitarian organisations, alongside guaranteed and sustained access for the swift entry of medical supplies and humanitarian staff into affected areas.

This outbreak is unfolding in a context where medical needs are already acute, and we are now at real risk of a silent escalation of other critical health problems people face every day. So many health facilities are overwhelmed, and access to regular, non-Ebola care is affected while many people remain at home, too afraid to seek care.

The response cannot succeed if it is imposed on communities rather than built with them. Every aspect of the response must be rooted in continuous engagement with communities — listening to concerns, addressing fear and misinformation, and building trust so that people feel safe seeking care.

Trust and active community participation are essential to controlling the spread of the disease and saving lives.

And the effectiveness of the response will ultimately depend on whether people believe in it.”

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MSF Helps Restoring Essential Services Amid Military Threats and Forced Displacement in Dahiyeh

MSF Helps Restoring Essential Services Amid Military Threats and Forced Displacement in Dahiyeh

Dahiyeh, a densely populated suburb in southern Beirut, has effectively become an urban frontline, suffering extensive damage from hundreds of Israeli airstrikes since the escalation on 2 March 2026. The neighbourhood has also faced repeated displacement orders – the latest on 1 June, when the Israeli military threaten to carry out strikes on the area – forcing many residents to flee again. Present to help restore essential services, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is concerned about forced displacement and the lack of safety for people.

Once a vibrant urban area, Dahiyeh  is now bearing the lasting impacts of repeated Israeli attacks across multiple levels. The destruction has severely impacted roads, public services, and water infrastructure, leaving thousands of residents without reliable access to essential services and exposing communities to increasing health risks. Since the beginning of the conflict, most healthcare facilities in the area have been affected: primary healthcare centres and hospitals have lost their staff to displacement, been damaged, or shut down due to serious security risks, further restricting people’s access to care.

Jamila, a displaced 50-year-old mother, spent two months living in tents just outside of Dahiyeh with no income and no support, with her 14-year-old son Wissam, who has speech impairment. “No one cares about me”, she says. “I went for days without food or water. I could not even bathe”. Her situation is far from exceptional: across Dahiyeh, thousands of displaced families face the loss of their homes and severed support systems that make recovery feel out of reach.

In response, MSF has scaled up its emergency intervention in March, deploying 9 mobile clinics to deliver medical care directly to communities who can no longer access health facilities. These mobile units provide a range of essential services, including medical consultations for mental health support, acute and chronic conditions, sexual and reproductive health and vaccination. Over the past six weeks, MSF teams have conducted more than 2,730 medical consultations.

Unfortunately, half of our mobile clinics had to be put on hold due to security concerns and new population movements outside Dahiyeh ; they will resume as soon as conditions permit.

In parallel, MSF is supporting the rehabilitation of 6 primary healthcare centres (PHCCs) damaged by Israeli strikes, while also distributing non-food items and hygiene kits to affected people. MSF is also implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities in close coordination with the municipalities. These efforts aim to restore access to safe water and improve sanitation for more than 30,000 people. As a result, it reduces the immediate risks of disease outbreaks and improves living conditions more broadly.

Vulnerable populations – including children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing medical conditions – are particularly at risk as essential services become harder to reach or cease functioning correctly. MSF’s capacity to bring medical care closer to communities is essential, complementing existing services during periods of strain. At the same time, our aim is for this support to remain temporary, while local health authorities regain and sustain their ability to provide care independently.
Guilherme Bothelo, MSF Coordinator for Beirut Emergency Project

Barriers to Safe Return

Since March, many families across the country have been forced to flee their homes multiple times, while others remain in precarious conditions. As Israeli army forced displacement orders continue to trigger repeated population movements, serious concerns persist about whether residents can safely return to their place of origin. The widespread destruction of public services – particularly water systems, healthcare facilities, and essential infrastructure – poses major obstacles to recovery. Without reliable access to these services, returning home is neither viable nor safe for many families.

The situation in Dahiyeh illustrates the urgent need to address both immediate humanitarian needs and the longer-term consequences of the escalation in Lebanon. As Israeli strikes intensify significantly in the south of the country and in the Bekaa, we fear that such situations will multiply, forcing more people to leave their homes and further eroding the conditions for a dignified life across entire communities. This would place an even greater strain on an already weakened health system strained by successive crises.
Guilherme Bothelo, MSF Coordinator for Beirut Emergency Project
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One Year Since GHF: MSF Warns Against Militarised Aid

One Year Since GHF: MSF Warns Against Militarised Aid

Amid evolving plans for the Gaza Strip, MSF reminds Israel and the US that the militarisation of humanitarian assistance should never be replicated

Jerusalem / Amman, 3 June 2026.- One year ago the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operating militarised food distribution points across the Gaza Strip, replacing the UN-coordinated aid distribution system. The GHF, run by Israel with financial support from the United States and other allies, closed within six months, as its related violence killed and injured thousands.[1] Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) still treats scores of patients impacted by this violence, who are living with trauma and even life-long injuries. Amid evolving plans for the Gaza Strip, MSF reminds Israel and the US that the militarisation of humanitarian assistance risks causing grave violence and harm and should never be replicated.

[1] There is no official cumulative account on the total number of casualties associated to GHF. OHCHR has said it caused over 2,140 deaths (September 2025) and more than 4,000 injured (August 2025), but these figures are estimated to be largely an undercount. Casualties include also those caused in supply routes as desperate people tried to access food.

As MSF documented with medical evidence, people who were seeking food in desperate and siege-like conditions suffered horrendous levels of targeted and indiscriminate violence. Children were shot in the chest while reaching for food, people were crushed or suffocated in stampedes and entire crowds were gunned down at distribution points. Today many GHF related patients are entirely dependent on charity and community kitchens due to their mobility issues and lack of ability to work and provide for their families.
Joan Tubau, MSF head of mission for the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The GHF was established to deliver food assistance to people in Gaza, following months of Israel’s total blockade, replacing some 400 existing aid sites. The four GHF sites became operational in late May 2025 and were ‘secured’ by private American armed contractors, with the Israeli forces maintaining control over the wider perimeter.

Between June and October 2025, MSF teams recorded at least 32 deaths and treated 1,885 patients for injuries at MSF’s Al Attar and Al Mawasi primary healthcare centres in Khan Younis.

“My friend was executed in front of my eyes. It still haunts me,” said Karim, who was a barber. He suffered life-changing injuries permanently damaging a nerve in his leg. “Both of us were caught and handcuffed (by Israeli soldiers) behind our backs. A drone was called above me, and four men were asked to take me away.”

Another patient, Muhammad, received nine gunshots. He hopes to walk again but suffers chronic pain and needs physiotherapy. “There was never enough food for everyone. There was a lot of crushing because the narrow iron gates were not wide enough. I saw many dead, including women. One was shot in the chest and one in the back. They were shooting at many different points. The Israeli soldier shooting at me was stationed on a hill,” he said.

“While lying on the ground, I waved ‘please stop, that’s enough’. But he shot at my hands just for fun.”

Mustafa, a taxi driver from Rafah, developed a heel infection which caused rotting after a gunshot wound broke two of his bones: “GHF was so humiliating; thousands of people would run towards it, then the IDF would shoot on us from fixed points. Two thirds of the injured people in Gaza I know were cases from GHF,” says Mustafa, whose 17-year-old nephew was shot in the head and killed by a sniper.

These testimonies are reflective of many who have been forced to live with external fixators or that still require close and constant medical follow-up.

Despite its temporary existence, this devastating aid scheme brought broader social consequences as it forced people into extreme fear, scarcity and competition, leading to trauma and changes in community dynamics.
Nicholas Papachrysostomou, MSF emergency coordinator for Gaza.

The GHF also played a key role in the malnutrition crisis manufactured by Israel. The drastic reduction of food and aid distribution points compounded by the total siege, intensified violence, mass displacement and destruction of health facilities had a direct role in the famine declared in mid-2025,[1] with devastating consequences on vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, newborns and children.

[1] Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC): https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-134/en/

Nothing about GHF was a humanitarian solution. One year on, the magnitude of the harm inflicted on people at GHF distribution points without any accountability requires an independent investigation. The International Court of Justice ruling of 22 October 2025 reinforces Israel’s obligation to ensure unhindered humanitarian access and condemns aid models, including the GHF, that fail to alleviate suffering.
Joan Tubau, MSF head of mission for the Occupied Palestinian Territory

MSF is calling on Israel, the US, and all actors of influence to ensure that aid is non-militarised, accessible and built on independence, impartiality, neutrality, and humanity. Humanitarian assistance must be able to reach all civilians in safety, based on vulnerability and need, wherever they choose to reside, and at scale.

*Names of patients have been changed to protect identity

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Southern Lebanon: Death, injury and significant damage after Israeli airstrike in Sour

Southern Lebanon: Death, injury and significant damage after Israeli airstrike in Sour

MSF condemns the airstrike carried out by the Israeli army on the evening of 1 June in the vicinity of Jabal Amel Hospital, which we support, in Sour (Tyre). According to the Ministry of Public Health, the attack has so far resulted in four deaths and 127 injuries, including 39 injured hospital staff. Among the injured staff, four are in critical condition and remain under treatment in intensive care. Bodies are still being recovered from the rubble, and the total number of dead and injured could still rise.

The strike caused severe damage to Jabal Amel Hospital itself, including its inpatient department, radiology department and intensive care unit. One wall of an operating room has been severely damaged, leaving a large hole, and the medical team had to urgently transfer half of the remaining patients in the intensive care unit to another ward to ensure their safety.

The previous day, nearby Hiram Hospital – another MSF-supported facility – was also struck by an Israeli airstrike and according to the Lebanese Health Ministry 13 healthcare workers were injured. These incidents come amid a sharp escalation of violence in the last days, with Beirut’s southern suburbs once again placed under Israeli displacement orders on Monday, following a blanket displacement order issued on Sunday for the entire South up to the Zahrani River.

These repeated attacks reflect a grave failure to protect the medical mission and underscore the urgent need to safeguard civilians, medical staff, health facilities, and continuous access to life-saving care.
Omar Ebeid, MSF Project Coordinator in Southern Lebanon
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Ebola and DRC: MSF Responds to Ituri Outbreak

Ebola and DRC: MSF Responds to Ituri Outbreak

Following the official declaration of an Ebola Virus Disease outbreak by the Ministry of Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 15 May, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is preparing to rapidly scale up its medical response in Ituri province, in the country’s northeast.

On the weekend of 9 and 10 May, MSF received alerts of an increased number of deaths from a suspected viral haemorraghic fever in Mongwalu health zone, an area northwest of Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, a team went to assess the situation and found that 55 people had died since the beginning of April. MSF also received subsequent reports that cases had been identified in Bunia and Rwampara health zones.

According to the Congolese authorities, a total of 246 suspected cases and more than 80 deaths have been reported across the three health zones. This outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. The Bundibugyo strain is distinct from the more common Zaire strain in that there is no approved vaccine, and no approved treatment.

On 15 May, health authorities in neighbouring Uganda also confirmed one case of Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease in a 59-year-old Congolese male, who died on 14 May. MSF has informed the Ugandan Ministry of Health that it is ready to support the public health authorities’ response.

The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning. In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare and live with ongoing insecurity, making rapid action critical to prevent the outbreak from escalating further.
Trish Newport, MSF Emergency Programme Manager

MSF currently has teams in the affected areas of Ituri to assess medical needs, and is coordinating closely with the Congolese health authorities. In MSF’s Salama clinic in Bunia,  we have three suspected cases, who have now been isolated.

Right now, MSF is mobilising more teams comprising medical, logistical, and support staff experienced in responding to viral haemorraghic fever outbreaks, as well as essential supplies, to launch a large-scale response as quickly as possible.  MSF will also work to ensure strict prevention measures are in place in its existing projects in order to protect our staff, our patients and their access to healthcare.

The estimated case fatality rate of the Bundibugyo strain is between 25 and 40 percent. This is the third detected outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, following outbreaks in Uganda in 2007-2008 and in DRC in 2012.

Ebola is an infectious viral haemorrhagic fever, transmitted to humans through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals. Human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals

MSF has responded to multiple Ebola outbreaks in DRC over the past years. This outbreak marks the country’s seventeenth since the first case was discovered in 1976.

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MSF condemns the attacks on healthcare in Lebanon

civil defence ambualnce in Sour, Lebanon

MSF condemns the attacks on healthcare in Lebanon

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) strongly condemns Israeli forces’ attacks against paramedics in Lebanon, including the recent killing of two Lebanese Civil Defence workers in Nabatiyeh, and reiterates its urgent call for the protection of medical and rescue personnel.

On 12 May 2026, a drone strike hit three paramedics as they were attempting to assist an injured person who survived a previous attack. Two of them were killed on the spot. Another one, wounded. Paramedics from an ambulance that had departed from Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh hospital to also aid the injured of the first attack witnessed the strike on their colleagues, transferred the injured paramedic to the hospital and later had to return to the site to collect human remains from the scene.

We are outraged over the killing of paramedics who were simply doing their job, taking huge risks to save lives. Attacks on healthcare are unacceptable and must not be normalised.
Jeremy Ristord, MSF Head of Mission in Lebanon

While scaling up support at Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh hospital to respond to mass casualty incidents in the past months, MSF teams have also worked side by side with paramedics and frontline responders across Nabatiyeh Governorate, including the Lebanese Civil Defence, sharing days and nights of emergency response as they bring patients to facilities, and supporting colleagues who continue working despite profound loss and fear.

The 12 May incident is part of an alarming pattern. Over recent weeks, MSF teams in Lebanon have been witnessing the consequences of airstrikes, drone strikes, and artillery fire, which are damaging hospitals, ambulances, and medical equipment, and killing or injuring civilians, health workers, and first responders. Lebanese health authorities, media and other humanitarian organizations have also reported this kind of violence, including repeated attacks while paramedics are rescuing people.

Ambulance in Sour, Lebanon

In Nabatiyeh and across southern Lebanon, rescue and medical teams are increasingly forced to delay or limit life‑saving interventions because of the fear of being targeted. Ambulance crews supported by MSF report spending only minutes at blast sites due to the risk of repeated strikes, avoiding the use of excavation equipment, and delaying evacuations, leaving some people trapped under rubble for hours or days. MSF has treated patients whose conditions were critically worsened by these delays, including severe trauma cases who later died from their injuries.

In total, since MSF started supporting Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh hospital at the beginning of March, 725 injured patients have been treated, and 232 arrived dead or died in hospital.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2 March and 12 May, 161 attacks against healthcare were recorded, resulting in 110 deaths and 252 injuries. This included 15 attacks resulting in 12 deaths and 21 injuries that occurred after the start of the ceasefire on 17 April, that has not led to a cessation of hostilities and has not allowed displaced populations to return home or people stranded in heavily-targeted areas to seek safety.

MSF staff with civil defence staff in Lebanon

Healthcare workers, first responders, ambulances, and medical facilities are protected under international humanitarian law. Their killing not only devastates families and colleagues, but further weakens already strained emergency response and healthcare systems.

MSF calls for an immediate end to the continuous attacks on medical and rescue personnel, facilities and offices, as well as on the violence that continuously places civilians and those trying to save their lives at risk.

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Gaza’s Man-Made Malnutrition Crisis

A staff at Al-Helou Hospital, in Gaza City, Occupied Palestinian Territory, checks on a newborn with low-weight lying in an incubator.

Gaza’s Man-Made Malnutrition Crisis

Israel’s manufactured malnutrition crisis in Gaza had devastating impacts on pregnant women and their newborns

Jerusalem / Barcelona May 7, 2026 —Israel’s manufactured malnutrition crisis in Gaza had a devastating impact on pregnant and breastfeeding women, newborns, and infants under 6 months old during periods of intense hostilities and siege such as mid-2025, according to an analysis of medical data released today by Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF).        

At four MSF run and supported health facilities between late 2024 and early 2026, MSF teams recorded higher levels of prematurity and mortality among infants born to mothers affected by malnutrition during their pregnancy, high levels of miscarriage, and observed sharp increases in treatment defaulting among malnourished children.

MSF links these outcomes to Israel’s blockade of essential goods and attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities. Insecurity, displacement, restrictions on aid, and limited access to food and medical care have had devastating consequences for maternal and newborn health. MSF warns that the situation remains extremely fragile despite the so-called ceasefire and urges Israeli authorities to immediately allow the unhindered entry of vital assistance and supplies.

An MSF staff Mohammed Shehada, Nursing Activities Manager at Al-Helou Hospital, in Gaza City, Occupied Palestinian Territory, checks on a new

Devastating impacts of malnutrition during pregnancy

The malnutrition crisis is entirely manufactured. Before the war malnutrition in Gaza was almost non-existent. For 2.5 years, the systematic blockade to humanitarian aid and commercial goods on top of insecurity have severely restricted access to food and clean water. Health care facilities have been forced out of service and living conditions have profoundly deteriorated. As a result, vulnerable groups of people are placed at heightened risk of malnutrition.
Mercè Rocaspana, MSF medical referent for emergencies

MSF analyzed data collected from 201 mothers of newborns receiving treatment in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) at Al Nasser and Al Helou hospitals, in Khan Younis and Gaza City, between June 2025 and January 2026. More than half of the women were affected by malnutrition* at some point during their pregnancy, and 25 percent were still malnourished during delivery.

Ninety percent of the babies born to mothers affected by malnutrition were born prematurely and 84 percent had low birth weight — a much higher incidence than in babies born to mothers with no malnutrition when giving birth. Neonatal mortality was twice as high among infants born to mothers affected by malnutrition compared with those born to mothers without malnutrition.

Displacement and insecurity prevent treatment

Between October 2024 and December 2025 MSF teams admitted 513 infants under six months into outpatient therapeutic feeding programs at Al Mawasi and Al Attar primary health care facilities in Khan Younis. Of those admitted, 91 percent were at risk of poor growth and development. By December, 200 infants were no longer in the program —  only 48 percent of those were cured, 7 percent died, 7 percent were referred to a program for older children, and a staggering 32 percent defaulted, primarily related to insecurity and displacement.

Reduced admissions in late July and early August 2025 coincided with a period of intensified insecurity and disruptions to food distributions. Most mothers requested nutrition support even when children were not yet identified with malnutrition, reflecting widespread food insecurity from Israel’s imposed blockade, which effectively prevented food from entering Gaza for months. Families adopted coping mechanisms, often prioritizing men and children over mothers when distributing limited food.
Marina Pomares, MSF Medical Coordinator for Palestine
A patient is checked at MSF’s ambulatory therapeutic feeding centre in Al-Attar primary healthcare centre in Khan Younis, Gaza, in the Occupi

A manufactured malnutrition crisis

Prior to the war, there were no dedicated therapeutic feeding units. MSF teams identified the first cases of child malnutrition in January 2024. Between then and March 2026, MSF admitted 4,950 children under 15 years old — 98 percent under 5 — for acute malnutrition in ambulatory and inpatient programs. During the same period 3,482 pregnant and breastfeeding women were enrolled in ambulatory programs.

“My youngest son died at five months due to severe malnutrition,” says Mona, a 23-year-old woman treated by MSF. “I suffered malnutrition myself during pregnancy and dealt with diarrhea and weakness. I live in a partially destroyed house. My husband used to be a fisherman with a small boat, which the Israeli shelling destroyed. We have no steady income.”

The January 2025 ceasefire ended in mid-March 2025. By late May 2025, food distribution points reduced from around 400 to just four under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). On top of this, the blockade on commercial food trucks drastically limited access to food. “The [food distribution] points were militarized and deadly, barely functioning, or open at the same time, further restricting access to much needed food assistance,” says José Mas, head of the MSF emergency unit.

In the months following, MSF-supported facilities experienced a sharp increase in patients seeking care due to violence perpetrated at food distribution points and malnutrition linked to the deprivation of food. Many women also reported experiencing extreme stress and anxiety related to the significant risks faced by male family members attempting to secure food at GHF sites and intense aerial bombardments and resulting displacement. MSF teams observed a high number of miscarriages during this period, with high stress identified as a contributing factor.

Food items of Sahar Nafez Salam in the tent where she lives in a camp for displaced people in Khan Younis, Gaza, in the Occupied Palestinian

Unprecedented levels of malnutrition declared  

Between 16 October and 30 November 2025, around three quarters of the population in Gaza were estimated to be facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), who had declared a famine in August — the first ever in the Middle East region.

Israel’s tactical restrictions on the entry of food, the militarization of aid corridors and distribution sites, and the targeted attacks on Gaza’s essential infrastructure have created an environment in which hunger is deliberately used as a means of control over the population.
says José Mas, MSF Head of Emergencies

“While the current so-called ceasefire has seen some stability in the situation, it is still extremely fragile. Our teams continue to admit new patients for malnutrition as the people of Gaza are forced to endure deliberate undignified living conditions, and lack access to assistance, income, and basic resources. MSF calls on Israeli authorities, as an occupying power, – and allied states including the US – to facilitate adequate and sustained entry of vital assistance for people living in Gaza to restore respectable levels of health, nutrition, and dignity,” says José Mas, MSF head of emergencies. 

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A ceasefire in name only: People are still being killed by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon

A ceasefire in name only: People are still being killed by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon

Despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon being announced on 17 April, and later renewed for three additional weeks, attacks continue in south Lebanon.

Israeli forces are conducting daily airstrikes, which have killed and injured hundreds of people. Evacuation orders continue to be issued, leading to the forcible displacement of thousands of people, while the complete destruction of homes and villages has not ceased during previous weeks.

Hospitals in southern Lebanon, where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are collaborating with the Ministry of Public Health to treat patients, continue to receive wounded people.

We have seen a range of severe injuries since the start of the nominal ceasefire. In one family alone, there was a toddler with facial lacerations, his four-year-old sister with compound skull fractures, limb fractures and bruising on her lungs. Their father had varying injuries, and their mother was also trapped under the rubble of their home. Medical teams in both hospitals are working around the clock to treat those patients, whose injuries can go from minor wounds to more severe ones, requiring advanced surgeries.
Dr Thienminh Dinh, an MSF emergency doctor

Between 18 April and 3 May, 173 wounded patients were admitted to Jabal Amel hospital, and 145 people did not survive their injuries.

A few kilometres away, MSF’s teams are witnessing a similar situation in the two hospitals we support in the district of Nabatiyeh. Between 26 April and 3 May, these hospitals received 65 injured patients, including two patients who later died from their injuries, as well as 26 people who arrived dead.

Despite ongoing support, including increased capacity for emergency care and ambulance referrals, patients are still arriving late or in critical condition due to insecurity and long distances to reach care. In some cases, referrals between hospitals are challenging due to a lack of safety on the road. However, medical teams have no choice but to refer patients elsewhere due to shortages in essential medical items, such as blood bags, in their facilities. For instance, in Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh hospital last week, two severely injured patients were meant to be transferred to another hospital because of the blood shortage but died during transfer.

Due to the high needs, medical teams in south Lebanon are forced to work up to 36 hours consecutively, at faster paces, and sometimes having to coordinate several surgical procedures on the same patient at the same time, due to overwhelming needs or the severity of injuries.

MSF is adapting our ways of working to continue providing support to the hospitals’ teams, who have been exhausted from more than two months of ongoing strikes, and a ceasefire that failed to provide respite. MSF teams are taking overnight shifts in Qana hospital, in Sour/Tyre, and in Najdeh Al-Shaabiyeh hospital, in Nabatiyeh, to assist with providing continuous care while alleviating the stress and workload of resident doctors.

People’s mental health is worsening

“We don’t trust this ceasefire, it took all the hope that we had,” says Samia*, a displaced woman from the south who now resides in Barja, a town in the district of Chouf a few kilometres above the Litani River. She returned home as soon as the ceasefire was announced, only to find out that her house was severely damaged. “If I was not feeling well before the ceasefire, now I am 100 times worse.”

To respond to people’s mental health needs, our teams in Nabatiyeh and South governorates are increasing the number and frequency of mobile clinics, reaching more remote communities and families who have decided to go back following the ceasefire announcement, whose mental health situation is deteriorating.

“A Syrian refugee, who is a double amputee due to an airstrike a few weeks ago, woke up to the news that her 8-year-old son was killed in an airstrike, while her daughter had intestinal perforations due to shrapnel,” says Dr Dinh. “How can we expect a mother to cope with this new reality?”

Many thought that this ceasefire, announced three weeks ago, would bring some relief to them and their families. The reality is different.

Two months into the escalation, the situation is becoming more complex, with patterns of violence and harm exacerbating over time. Without meaningful protection and uncompromised access to healthcare, displacement has neither brought safety nor safeguarded civilians.
Jeremy Ristord, MSF head of mission in Lebanon

 *Name changed to protect identity.

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10 Years of UN Resolution 2286: Protect Healthcare

t Mary Soledad Hospital in Bamenda is the base of MSF's ambulance service in Cameroon's North-West Region

10 Years of UN Resolution 2286: Protect Healthcare

Beirut, May 4, 2026 –The 3 May will mark 10 years since the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2286. Over 80 Member States committed to protect medical and medical humanitarian personnel, infrastructure, transport and equipment. Today, international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on States to respect this commitment, and protect medical care.

MSF has teams working in over 70 countries around the world, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar, as well as other areas of conflict and war. In the last decade, 21 MSF staff have been killed in 15 incidents whilst undertaking their duties. In 2025 alone, the World Health Organization’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) reported a total of 1,348 attacks on medical facilities, resulting in the deaths of 1,981 people.

What was once considered exceptional has now become commonplace. We see a blatant disregard for the protection of the medical mission in countries at war. States who committed to protecting medical care back in 2016 must stop hiding behind excuses and finger-pointing, and act.
Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, MSF’s International President
Israeli strike on Nasser hospital in Gaza

Over the last 10 years attacks on healthcare have been various and have included airstrikes on hospitals in Syria and Yemen, shellings of hospitals in Ukraine and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, drone strikes on a hospital in Myanmar, and attacks on clearly marked ambulances in Cameroon, Haiti and Lebanon. The response from perpetrating States has often been denial, to claim a mistake, or accusations of loss of protection without proof. Health workers are also increasingly being treated as suspect rather than protected.  

The immediate consequence of attacks is injuries and loss of life. Longer-term, the consequence is that communities are often deprived of life-saving care as health infrastructure is not rebuilt or humanitarian organisations suspend their activities because of security concerns. In 2025, MSF teams in Sudan carried out nearly 850,000 outpatient consultations, admitted just under 95,600 people to hospital and assisted almost 29,000 births. In Gaza, over the same period, teams undertook 913,000 outpatient consultations, admitted just under 54,000 people and ran 89,800 mental health sessions. In Ukraine in 2025, MSF ambulances referred 10,700 patients, 60 per cent of whom had war-related injuries, and teams provided 45,300 outpatient consultations via mobile clinic, and undertook 9,750 physiotherapy sessions. When healthcare infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, and if people are too scared to leave their homes to seek medical care, it is the communities that suffer.

Medical care in conflict is under extreme threat, as attacks against healthcare workers and functioning health infrastructure have been seen in almost every conflict over the past decade. MSF demands that States respect their obligations and commitment under Resolution 2286 for greater protection and accountability. The protection granted to us and to our patients under International Humanitarian Law must be led by action, not just words.
Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, MSF’s International President
Medical and health aid centre in Davydiv Brid village, Kherson Oblast. 31 January 2023.
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Israel uses water as a weapon of collective punishment in Gaza

Israel uses water as a weapon of collective punishment in Gaza

JERUSALEM – Israeli authorities have used access to water as a weapon against Palestinians, systematically depriving people in Gaza of water in a campaign of collective punishment, according to a report released by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). MSF urges the Israeli authorities to immediately restore water for people at the required levels in Gaza. Israel’s allies must use their leverage to pressure Israel to stop impeding humanitarian access, including water infrastructure needs.

The deliberate denial of water from Palestinians is an integral part of Israel’s genocide. MSF’s report, Water as a Weapon: Israel’s Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza, documents how the Israeli authorities’ repeated weaponisation of water are not isolated acts, but part of a recurrent, systematic and cumulative pattern. It is occurring alongside the direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, and the flattening of homes forcing mass displacement. Together, they constitute a deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions on Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli authorities know that without water life ends, yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza, whilst consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering. Palestinians have been injured and killed simply trying to access water, this deprivation, combined with dire living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed health system, create a perfect storm for the spread of diseases.
Claire San Filippo, MSF Emergency Manager.

Israel has destroyed or damaged nearly 90 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza, including desalination plants, boreholes, pipelines, and sewage systems.[1] MSF teams have documented the Israeli military shooting at clearly identified water trucks, or destroying boreholes that were a lifeline for tens of thousands of people. Violent incidents have often occurred as water was being distributed to people, injuring Palestinians and aid workers, and damaging equipment. 

“My grandson was in Nuseirat, in July [2025]. He went to get some drinking water,” says Hanan, a Palestinian woman in Gaza City. “He was standing in line with other kids, and they [the Israeli forces] killed him. He was 10 years old… Getting water is not supposed to be dangerous.”

The cumulative effect of the water scarcity engineered by Israeli authorities is that it simply is not possible to provide people with sufficient water. After the local authorities, MSF is the largest producer and a main distributor of drinking water in Gaza, yet between May and November 2025, one in every five of our water distributions ran dry as our trucks were unable to carry sufficient water for all the people who required it. Israeli military displacement orders have locked our teams out of areas where we had provided water to hundreds of thousands of people, leading to essential services stopping and the loss of lifesaving infrastructure.

Israeli authorities have hindered the entry of essential water and sanitation materials into Gaza. Since October 2023, electricity, fuel, and supplies like generators, their spare parts, and engine oil – critical to power water treatment and distribution – have been cut or tightly restricted. One-third of our requests to bring in critical water and sanitation supplies have been rejected or left unanswered. These supplies include water desalination units, pumps, chlorine and other chemicals to treat water, water tanks, insect repellent, and latrines. Many of the items that were approved by the Israeli authorities, were then subsequently turned away at the border.

“We need water,” says Ali, a Palestinian displaced and living in a camp in Deir Al-Balah. “It does not make sense. It’s like we are asking the world for the essentials of life.”

[1] According to the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Bank.

The consequences of this deprivation of access to water are far-reaching on people’s health, hygiene, and dignity, particularly for women and people with disabilities. Access to basic hygiene, including clean water, soap, diapers, and menstrual hygiene products, has become extremely difficult. People are forced to dig holes in the sand as toilets, which flood and contaminate the surroundings and groundwater with faeces.

The lack of access to water and hygiene, coupled with life in dire and undignified conditions like overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, also leads to increases in diseases, including respiratory infections, skin diseases, and diarrhoeal diseases. Skin diseases comprised nearly 18 per cent of MSF general healthcare consultations in 2025, while between May and August 2025, we found that nearly 25 per cent of people had experienced gastrointestinal illness in the previous month.

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