- 16/6/2025
Rueda de prensa Internacional MSF Gaza, 16 de junio de 2025.
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00:00...and online, that MSF decided to convene today to call the European leaders to stop empty rhetoric on Gaza and to take concrete action.
00:15Today, with me in Brussels, there is the MSF General Secretary Christopher Lockyer,
00:19who will address an open letter that will be sent to the 27 European leaders plus the president of all the European institutions to take concrete action,
00:34knowing that they have political, economic, diplomatic tools that they can use to exert pressure on Israel to stop the carnage in Gaza.
00:43Together with me, we also have Omar Ebeid, MSF Emergency Coordinator in charge of Emergency Response in Gaza,
00:52who has just returned 10 days ago from the Gaza Strip,
00:56and medical doctor Virginia Monetti, who has just been back yesterday evening,
01:03who will share with us personal testimonies on the ongoing situation in Gaza.
01:08So thank you very much for attending the press conference.
01:12A few technical remarks for questions, please, after the press conference, if you have questions, introduce yourself,
01:21and if you could refer to the media outlet you work with, it would be highly appreciated.
01:27And for organizing interviews at the end of the press conference,
01:31my colleagues, Kenten Barrea and Stephen DeBoth, will be there to support and help your work.
01:37Thank you very much for attending. I leave the floor to Christopher Lockyer.
01:42Good morning. My name is Chris Lockyer. I am the Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières, Doctors Without Borders.
01:50We're in Brussels today to deliver an open letter with a clear message to leaders of the European Union
01:56ahead of next week's foreign affairs and European councils.
01:59Our message to the leaders is simple.
02:01We urge you to use all political, economic and diplomatic tools to exert real pressure on Israel to stop the carnage in Gaza
02:11and to allow unhindered humanitarian aid.
02:14For more than 20 months now, relentless bombardment and siege by Israeli forces have inflicted a punishing campaign against Palestinians in Gaza,
02:26turning this narrow strip of land into a graveyard of shattered hospitals, mass graves and destroyed neighborhoods.
02:32Gaza's health authorities now record almost 55,000 people killed and more than 120,000 injured.
02:42Figures that are climbing with ever-massing.
02:47Recent survey staff, in fact, 40% of the people that they know who have died of injuries in Gaza were below 10 years old.
02:55According to the Lancet, over 50 babies have been born and died since the start of this war.
03:03MSF teams on the ground are describing a situation that they call worse than hell on earth.
03:09Gaza's homes, hospitals, markets, water networks, roads and power lines have been demolished by Israeli forces.
03:17Our colleagues are witnessing the bodily harm, the killing, the destruction, the forced displacement, the starvation of the population of Gaza.
03:27They are witnessing the systematic dismantling of every system that sustains civilian life.
03:35The health system has been destroyed before our eyes.
03:39MSF is witnessing this firsthand through daily harrowing experiences of our medical teams on the ground.
03:44Only a handful of hospitals remain partially functional and they operate without reliable electricity, without clean water, without essential medicines.
03:56Last week, we were forced to relocate our surgical activities from Nazar Hospital in Karn Yunis to an MSF field hospital in Der Albala.
04:04Because of the displacement orders and bombardments and movement restrictions obstructing our ability to refer patients
04:10and our ability to ensure staff get to where they need to be.
04:14This has been a regular cycle for our patients and teams throughout this conflict.
04:21Since the start of the war, staff and patients from MSF have had to leave 20 different health structures
04:26and have endured 50 violent incidents, which include airstrikes against hospitals,
04:32tank shells being fired at de-conflicted shelters, ground offences into medical centres,
04:38convoys fired upon, and the tragic killing of 11 of our colleagues.
04:43These attacks are not isolated incidents.
04:47They are part of a systematic disregard for international humanitarian law
04:50and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2286, which demands the protection of the medical mission.
04:57A direct consequence of the destruction of Gaza's health system is that right now,
05:03according to the World Health Organization, around 13,000 people, including more than 4,500 children,
05:10remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.
05:13Nevertheless, despite these needs and the proven capacity of the European Union,
05:18only a few hundred patients have been welcomed by European member states.
05:23While simultaneously ensuring the Palestinians' right to return,
05:27this number can and should multiply many, many times over.
05:34Gaza's only remaining lifeline, humanitarian assistance, is being weaponised.
05:39Supplies are throttled.
05:41If not blocked outright, they are rerouted to advance military and political objectives.
05:48This manipulation is a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
05:52Aid is a legal obligation, not a bargaining chip,
05:56and withholding it amounts to collective punishment.
06:01Recently, responsibility for aid delivery has been contracted to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
06:07MSF considers this both dangerous and reckless,
06:09and as part of the U.S.-Israeli scheme to instrumentalise aid.
06:14The GHF launched its activities on the 27th of May.
06:18Since then, hundreds of Palestinians have been treated in hospitals,
06:23and scores have been killed after being shot at at distribution sites
06:27while waiting to receive basic necessities for survival.
06:32As one of our colleagues in Gaza described,
06:35some people return with a bag of flour, others with a shroud.
06:39For example, on the 11th of June, the MSF-supported Almawayze Clinic received 32 casualties,
06:46including three people dead on arrival.
06:49They had been shot on their way to a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
06:55This was not an isolated incident.
06:58Three days earlier, teams at NASA had received 40 patients, most of them with gunshot wounds.
07:03The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation seems to be a cynical ploy to feign compliance with international humanitarian law.
07:12In practice, it uses aid as a tool to forcibly displace people
07:16as part of what seems to be a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip,
07:21and to justify the continuation of this war waged without limits.
07:26For more than 20 months, MSF teams have experienced the repeated forced displacement of Gaza's population
07:35and the destruction of life-saving infrastructure that has rendered the area incompatible with human survival.
07:44Members of Israel's government have clearly linked this military strategy
07:48with calls to eliminate Palestinians from Gaza, a clear call for ethnic cleansing.
07:53On a daily basis, our teams are seeing patterns of genocide.
07:59In the killing of healthcare and humanitarian workers,
08:02in the bombing of medical structures and shelters for displaced people,
08:05in the complete blockade including food, water and medical supplies,
08:10and the total disregard of rulings issued by the International Court of Justice
08:14which demand that Israel ensure humanitarian aid and prevent genocide.
08:18Israel is systematically destroying the conditions necessary for Palestinian life in Gaza.
08:27This catastrophe is deliberately brought by human decisions,
08:32prolonged and enabled by an international community
08:34that has yet to summon the courage and decisiveness to stop it.
08:38MSF, like many other organisations, has repeatedly called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,
08:46unfettered humanitarian access, and respect for IHL by all parties.
08:52We have condemned atrocities on all sides, including hostage-taking,
08:57arbitrary detention and indiscriminate attacks on civilians,
09:00but this military onslaught against a besieged people rages on, growing more brutal by the day.
09:07What is happening in Gaza is evidence of a profound failure of moral and political responsibility.
09:16So I conclude by asking European member states and other countries
09:20to show that solidarity is not just words,
09:23but that solidarity is rooted in action and accountability.
09:26We specifically call upon the European Union and European governments
09:32to exert real pressure and use the leverage they have to stop this assault
09:36and open Gaza to unhindered humanitarian aid.
09:40Our message to European leaders and beyond is clear.
09:44End the siege, defend humanitarian action,
09:47and ensure accountability for crimes committed and for violations of international humanitarian law.
09:52To European leaders, how many more children, women, and men must be killed or pulled from the rubble
09:59before you act decisively?
10:01To European leaders, will you continue to remain complicit through your inaction?
10:06To European leaders, will you continue issuing empty statements of concern over the situation in Gaza
10:12while sending the arms that are killing and maiming the children that we are treating every day?
10:16This is a moment that demands more than words.
10:21It requires political courage, legal responsibility, a moral commitment
10:26to immediately end the suffering of the people of Gaza.
10:30Thank you.
10:32Thank you very much, Chris.
10:34And this call to European leaders are made today ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council
10:39and European Council next week.
10:40And we strongly hope that these will be heard
10:43and that there will be signs of response and answer
10:46by the leadership to whom we addressed those messages.
10:50I leave the floor now to our colleague Omar Abed
10:52to provide you a brief overview on MSF operation inside the Gaza.
10:58Good morning.
11:02For the past year, now since last July, I've been in and out of Gaza.
11:10Already, last July, when you first enter Gaza,
11:14the level of violence and destruction is quite impressive.
11:19It is...
11:20When we go in, we don't have a clear idea in terms of what to expect.
11:28Media is...
11:29The blockage of not allowing media in to show their atrocities
11:33has us, who have been working in Gaza,
11:37unsure what to expect until we actually enter.
11:40So, having worked on Gaza closely since the beginning of the war,
11:46I was still shocked when I entered.
11:48Arriving in Gaza is an assault on the senses.
11:51Sounds are violent.
11:53Drones are persistent.
11:55The smell of sewage are noticeable in most areas.
11:58It takes time to learn when a bomb is exploding nearby or far away.
12:02It takes time to understand what are the risks as this context has pushed our limits of what's acceptable.
12:10It takes time for your body to calm down and eventually be able to sleep.
12:14Most of this trip was either heavily destroyed, like some of the most destroyed areas I have seen,
12:23including Syria and Iraq,
12:25and the rest of this trip was essentially one camp after another.
12:31This was in July 2024.
12:35Now, 11 months later, the military operations have expanded.
12:39There is a full unblocked Gaza, which safety and security team increased the difficulty.
12:46It's a point of realizing and prioritizing our activities.
12:51I honestly don't know what to say.
12:59It seems in the past 20 months, everything has already been said.
13:04Again, international media and human rights organizations have not been let in to have
13:09international reporting on the atrocities,
13:11and humanitarians are constantly doubted and questioned because of the image we're providing.
13:16And what we are witnessing either does not want to be believed or because it goes against the Israeli narrative.
13:24The argument of Israel's right to defend itself has been tabled as a carte blanche
13:29to carry out crimes on the Palestinian population.
13:32We spend our times trying to question and go through trying to define what we witness
13:40are either war crimes or crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing or genocide
13:45or patterns of genocide instead of focusing on our medical activities.
13:52Over the past 20 months, our teams have done an incredible job of trying to maintain medical activities
13:59among very serious challenges of supply and not being able to enter on a consistent basis,
14:06the security and safety of our teams that are constantly compromised,
14:09our staff losing families on a consistent basis, constant displacement, hunger.
14:19Despite this, we have 1,043 MSF staff and over 25 international staff
14:28that have managed to operate six clinics, two field hospitals,
14:32and running services into the Ministry of Health hospitals.
14:39And as important as these activities are, it's a drop in the bucket of what's actually needed.
14:45So we have been asked to do more than our jobs.
14:49It's not enough to try to provide health care and protect our teams
14:53and bringing in supplies during the blockade
14:55and trying to guess where the next target is.
14:59We also have to defend what we see is real,
15:02to push states to take a stand and allow humanitarian aid in
15:08and to not undermine the humanitarian channels through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
15:14We are asking every one of our staff to go over and beyond.
15:17We also have to speak out while risking the sustainability of our activities
15:25and causing possible blockages and compromises of our operations.
15:31So let me try to explain very briefly the impact this war has
15:36on the Palestinian population in Gaza and on our operations.
15:41We've heard a lot of the terminology in terms of what the damage of infrastructure,
15:45the damage of infrastructure means that ambulances and patients
15:50can't access regularly the health facilities.
15:53It means that the water, fresh water, is not readily accessible
15:57and the water network has fallen apart
16:00and the sewage systems do not work properly.
16:04It means evacuation orders or rather displacement orders mean that anywhere
16:10after receiving a notice, if a notice is received,
16:14people have either minutes to evacuate or 24 hours
16:20to leave for an unidentified time.
16:24This means that a third of the Palestinian population
16:27has been displaced at least once since the breakdown of the ceasefire
16:31and almost the entire population has been displaced
16:34several times since the beginning of the war.
16:38Evacuation orders are rarely temporary
16:39and more often than not results in the destruction of homes.
16:4382% of this trip is currently under evacuation orders.
16:48This means that every one of our staff
16:50has been displaced several times during the conflict.
16:54This means that on a weekly basis we have interruptions
16:57because our staff have to leave to go evacuate.
17:01Targeted attacks, the attacks in Gaza are from the air, sea, and ground.
17:11They're constant through the day and the evening.
17:14The sounds are violent even if the Palestinians
17:16and the children get used to it.
17:19There is an average since the beginning of the war
17:22of 74 strikes a day.
17:28The attacks increasingly since the breakdown of the ceasefire
17:31have been closer and closer to protected structures,
17:35to our offices, to health facilities,
17:38and during the day while we have movements on the same roads.
17:44Bombs 150 meters away from our health facilities
17:48have become a normal occurrence since the breakdown of the ceasefire.
17:51This also means that on a weekly basis
17:55over the past two months
17:56we have at least once a week,
17:59if not several times a week,
18:01a staff member that has either been injured or killed
18:04or a family member of theirs that has been injured or killed.
18:08When we're talking about embargoes, siege, and a blockade,
18:12it means that the supplies since the beginning of the war
18:17have already been limited.
18:18In October, our patients,
18:21we were not able to provide food for their full caloric intake
18:25to be able to be treated properly.
18:28It means that since the beginning of May,
18:32the World's Central Kitchen has stopped being able
18:34to provide food for our patients and staff.
18:36It means that we're down to a few weeks with our security stock.
18:44It means that the entire population is hungry
18:46and they are rationing food.
18:48It means that the malnutrition cases in our facilities
18:53have greatly increased.
18:54It means that our staff,
18:56who are more privileged than others,
18:58are rationing breads to eat.
19:00It means that even the international staff
19:03are down to one meal a day.
19:07It means our drugs are waiting to come in
19:10and risk expiring at the border.
19:13It means we cannot open activities
19:15as we would be able otherwise to do.
19:18Thank you, Omer.
19:27I think that...
19:28I think...
19:29Just one last.
19:30Sorry.
19:30It's...
19:31We are tired of the complacency.
19:34We are tired of having to deal with
19:36the increasing level of tax.
19:39And I think it's time for the word
19:41to be put into action.
19:42Thank you, Omer,
19:46to provide this terrific description
19:49about the situation in Gaza.
19:51Now the floor to Dr. Virginia Monetti.
19:54Over to you.
19:57Thank you.
19:58And good morning, everybody.
20:02We'll try to give you a bit of a picture
20:05of what we see in Gaza in this moment
20:07and what are the main medical needs.
20:10As it was clearly said,
20:13the destruction of the health facility
20:16and the whole health care system
20:18is a reality in this moment.
20:21Hospitals, clinics,
20:23primary health care centres
20:24are targeted
20:25or are not accessible
20:28due to evacuation orders.
20:31The 80% of the street
20:33that is not accessible in this moment
20:35is because the military zone
20:37or because it's under evacuation.
20:39And when a health facility
20:41ends up in an evacuation area,
20:43it means patients cannot reach.
20:46So access to care
20:48is not guaranteed anymore.
20:51In the last two months,
20:53while we were there,
20:54we have seen three of the main hospitals
20:57being forced to close
21:00and to stop activities.
21:02And I'm talking about Indonesian hospital
21:04and Al-Aouda hospital in the north
21:05and European Gaza hospital in the south.
21:09And now in the last two weeks,
21:11Nasser Hospital is a good example
21:13of becoming not accessible
21:17for health facilities.
21:19Nasser Hospital is a 600-bed facility.
21:23It's the main facility
21:24where we have the biggest words
21:26in terms of maternity and pediatrics
21:28that were supported by MSF,
21:30in terms of surgical care,
21:32trauma care,
21:34and by any means
21:36can be replaced
21:38by other facility
21:40and international organizations
21:42that are working there.
21:43So in this moment in Gaza,
21:46in the south,
21:47in the middle area,
21:48and also in the north,
21:50so all over the Gaza Strip,
21:51we don't have enough hospital beds
21:55to serve the needs.
21:57So there is no way
21:58that we can respond to the needs.
22:04MSF is operating a filled hospital
22:06in the middle area
22:08where mainly we focus on trauma
22:12and surgical emergency,
22:14emergency room,
22:15and wound care.
22:17We have recently increased
22:19our bed capacity
22:20trying to respond
22:22to the increased needs.
22:23And we have reached capacity
22:25already again.
22:28And we cannot scale up
22:29activities anymore,
22:30not because we don't want,
22:31but because if the border
22:33is not opening,
22:35we will be forced
22:36to stop our activity.
22:37We don't have the medical supply
22:39for it.
22:40We don't have the surgical equipment.
22:42We don't have to scale up
22:42our dressing material
22:46is lacking.
22:47We are reaching
22:47our stock
22:48and not be able
22:49to respond to the need.
22:52In the north,
22:54Gaza City,
22:56we have one
22:58of people
22:59that came back
23:00with the ceasefire
23:02in January
23:02from the middle
23:03and south area.
23:06And most recently,
23:08people displaced
23:09from the northern governorate
23:11that now are
23:12military zone
23:14or under evacuation.
23:16So the city is full
23:17of tents,
23:18the shelters
23:19are under rubble
23:20and there is almost
23:21no access
23:22to essential needs.
23:23Water and sanitation
23:24structure
23:24are not existing.
23:27We have three fully functional
23:29primary health care
23:30for one million
23:31people in Gaza
23:33and just one hospital
23:35able to respond
23:36to emergency
23:37and trauma.
23:39In a moment
23:40where we are
23:41seeing increased hostility,
23:44so increased injury,
23:47increased mass casualty
23:48in the hospital
23:49that by definition
23:50is an increased number
23:51of patients
23:52that exceed
23:53the hospital capacity.
23:54and whichever hospital
23:58in Europe
23:59couldn't deal
24:02with one
24:02of this mass casualty
24:04incident
24:04without being
24:06completely knocked out.
24:07And in Gaza,
24:08it's the reality,
24:09it's a daily reality,
24:10sometimes more
24:10than once a day.
24:15And recently,
24:16numbers of injured
24:17increased also related
24:19and linked
24:19to the Gaza
24:20distribution points.
24:22We have seen
24:22mass casualty incident
24:24happening
24:25and injured patient
24:27arriving
24:28in primary health
24:29care facility
24:30like it was said before.
24:32And this is not
24:33the place
24:33that can manage
24:35this kind of injuries.
24:38The patient
24:39can be stabilized
24:40and then sent
24:41to a higher level
24:43of care,
24:44but we are running
24:46out of options.
24:47All the trauma
24:47circuit is broken
24:49and is not
24:50functioning anymore.
24:51at the clinic
24:54where we are working
24:55and offering
24:56primary health care
24:57services
24:58with general consultation,
24:59mental health,
25:00wound care,
25:02and antenatal care
25:03and sexual
25:04and reproductive health
25:05both in the north
25:06and in the south,
25:08we are obliged
25:08to close the door
25:10at 9 a.m.,
25:11where we reach
25:13maximum capacity
25:14already.
25:15and patients
25:16are walking
25:17to the clinic
25:17long distance
25:18and safe path
25:19to reach
25:20the medical care
25:21to look for
25:23medical services
25:24and we have
25:25to turn away
25:26patients,
25:27not because
25:28we want to,
25:29of course,
25:30but because we cannot
25:31scale up
25:31our activities
25:32more than
25:33what we are doing.
25:35We are running
25:36out of supply.
25:37We don't have
25:38enough medication
25:40to set up
25:41new services.
25:43Chronic medication
25:44is a problem
25:45and with all
25:46the overwhelming
25:48volume of trauma
25:50patients
25:50that needs
25:50to be taken care
25:51of,
25:52all the medical
25:53chronical conditions
25:54are, of course,
25:55put on the side
25:56and the impact
25:57and the long-term
25:58impact of this,
26:00it's beyond
26:04what we can
26:06imagine.
26:08Patients are
26:09asking for food
26:10not only
26:11for medical care.
26:13Asking for food,
26:14the food is not
26:15accessible
26:17all over the street.
26:19Products,
26:20essential products
26:21are lacking
26:21from the market
26:22and if they're
26:24present,
26:24the price
26:25is completely
26:26prohibited
26:26and there is
26:29no milk,
26:30no eggs,
26:31no proteins
26:32available for patients
26:34and this
26:34we are struggling
26:36even to
26:37ensure meals
26:40for our admitted
26:41patients at the
26:42hospital
26:42and we know
26:43how important
26:44it is to avoid
26:45complications
26:46and life-threatening
26:49complications
26:49for our patients.
26:52Our malnutrition
26:53services,
26:54we have seen
26:56an increased
26:57number of pregnant
26:58and breastfeeding
26:59women and children
27:00under five
27:01coming and entering
27:03our programs.
27:03without us doing
27:05any effort
27:06to look for them,
27:08without promoting
27:08our services
27:09or going to the
27:10community because
27:11it's too risky
27:12from a security
27:12point of view.
27:13They are just
27:14coming and
27:15the cohort
27:16is increasing
27:17every day.
27:19And maybe a last
27:20word on healthcare
27:22staff.
27:24Health care staff
27:26in Gaza
27:26is operating
27:27beyond the
27:29limits of
27:29human endurance
27:31and they
27:33themselves,
27:34as it was said,
27:36they have been
27:37displaced several
27:37times.
27:38They need to
27:38leave the medical
27:41activities to take
27:42care of their
27:43family.
27:44They have
27:45lived a total
27:46disruption of their
27:47normal life
27:48and of their
27:48social and
27:50supportive network.
27:52The mental health
27:53toll on our
27:54staff is heavy
27:56and on everybody.
27:59In the last two
28:00months we have
28:01seen at least
28:02three of our
28:03staff that have
28:05to be admitted
28:06to the hospital
28:07and they become
28:08patient themselves
28:09and this is not
28:11sustainable.
28:13This is not
28:13human.
28:16So we really
28:17call for action
28:18now.
28:19We need
28:20humanitarian aid
28:21to enter
28:22Gaza.
28:23Now we need
28:24this to stop.
28:26Thank you.