Beginning at 2:30 a.m. on May 30 and continuing throughout the early morning, looters broke into International Medical Corps’ field hospital in Al Zawaida, stealing medicine as well as medical and nutritional supplies. They also vandalised and damaged the facility, which had just received supplies for the first time in many weeks. Fortunately, all International Medical Corps staff are safe.
International Medical Corps operates two field hospitals in Gaza. The Al Zawaida facility provides a range of outpatient services to the civilian population, serving as many as 1,000 patients per day. International Medical Corps’ other field hospital in central Gaza, located in Deir al Balah, remains operational, though the looters stole supplies that the hospital requires for ongoing operations. That facility, which offers critical emergency, surgical and inpatient services 24/7, also provides full maternity care, physiotherapy, X-ray and laboratory services, and manages an average of 100 to 120 patients each day.
International Medical Corps has operated in Gaza since 2008. It deployed its first full-service field hospital there in January 2024, and has so far helped more than 430,000 civilians by providing emergency and trauma surgical services, obstetric and newborn care, nutrition, child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, and services for women and girls who have experienced violence. The global first responder also provides civilians with access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, as well as medicines, supplies and training.
Find out more about International Medical Corps and its response in Gaza.