Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has accused Israel of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip, according to a report released Thursday documenting the ongoing conflict over the past 14 months.
The report details 41 attacks on MSF personnel, including airstrikes targeting health facilities and direct gunfire on humanitarian convoys. The international medical organization reported being forced to evacuate hospitals and health centers 17 times during the conflict.
“We are seeing clear signs of ethnic cleansing as Palestinians are forcibly displaced, trapped, and bombed,” stated Christopher Lockyear, MSF’s secretary-general. Israel, however, has consistently denied allegations of genocide in its military operations in Gaza.
The report, titled “Gaza: Life in a Death Trap,” highlights the devastating impact of the blockade on humanitarian aid. In October 2024, only 37 aid trucks per day were allowed into Gaza, a stark contrast to the 500 trucks permitted daily before the conflict.
Northern Gaza, particularly the Jabalia refugee camp, has experienced intense violence since early October, MSF reported. The organization’s medical teams have conducted over 27,500 consultations and performed 7,500 surgical operations within a year. MSF also warned of the rapid spread of diseases among a population that is 90% displaced and living in dire conditions.
Medical evacuations have faced severe restrictions, with MSF reporting that Israel approved only 1.6% of requests for medical transfers between May and September 2024.
“What our medical teams have witnessed on the ground throughout this conflict aligns with increasing reports from legal experts and organizations suggesting genocide is occurring in Gaza,” Lockyear added.
The report urges an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of the siege to enable large-scale humanitarian aid deliveries. MSF also called on international states, particularly Israel’s allies, to reconsider their unconditional support for Israel and to meet their obligations to prevent genocide in Gaza.
Separately, Human Rights Watch released a report accusing Israel of committing “acts of genocide” by deliberately restricting Palestinians’ access to water in Gaza.
The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures verified by AFP. Since then, Israeli retaliatory strikes have resulted in over 45,097 deaths in Gaza, most of them civilians, based on figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which the United Nations deems reliable.
