Israel and Gaza Crisis

Urgent humanitarian assistance is critically needed across the region. All parties must respect civilian lives and adhere to international humanitarian law.

In Israel, we do not have an operational presence, and as is often our practice in such cases, we support trusted partners on the ground who are responding. International Medical Corps is supporting one of our long-time partners—JDC—and its emergency response efforts in Israel. JDC also has supported some of our other humanitarian missions around the world.

In Gaza, where we’ve had staff on the ground since 2008, International Medical Corps is responding. We’ve deployed field hospitals, beginning in January 2024, in southern and middle Gaza to help civilians affected by the war. We’ve temporarily consolidated operations in our middle-region hospital, which now has more than 250 beds and offers a complete range of health services, including emergency and trauma care; obstetric and newborn care; nutrition; child protection; mental health and psychosocial support; and gender-based violence prevention and response services. We also have set up a separate outpatient facility, are providing access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, and are ensuring a steady supply of medicines, supplies and training.

The Gaza Strip is a 25-mile long, 6-mile wide strip of land on the eastern Mediterranean coast that is home to about 2 million people.
According to the United Nations, Gaza is “among the poorest places in the world.“
Before the conflict began, more than half of Gaza’s population relied on humanitarian assistance and challenges accessing healthcare and protection services.
International Medical Corps has worked in Gaza since 2008, providing healthcare, mental health and psychosocial support, child protection and gender-based violence, and water, sanitation and hygiene services.
 

Our Response

International Medical Corps has deployed field hospitals in Gaza to help provide civilians with the healthcare they need.

We initially deployed a large field hospital in southern Gaza in early January 2024. This hospital had 160 beds for patients with a wide range of needs, and offered an emergency room, a Level 1 intensive-care unit, operating theaters, a fully stocked pharmacy, X-ray and ultrasound machines, a laboratory and blood-transfusion services. It provided care 24/7 and was serving more than 1,000 civilians every day.

We deployed a second field hospital in Deir Al Balah, in Gaza’s middle region, in early May. This hospital began with 50 beds and has since expanded to more than 250, as we have shifted operations from the southern-Gaza facility there. This combined field hospital also provides a complete range of lifesaving services, alongside integrated nutrition services, child-protection services, mental health care, gender-based violence prevention and support services, and facilities and services related to water, sanitation and hygiene. In mid-July we deployed a new hospital nearby, focused on delivering outpatient services, including basic primary healthcare, triage, first aid, stabilisation and care for minor trauma injuries.

Our multi-pronged, integrated approach focuses on immediate relief to save lives, alleviate suffering and promote well-being, while we contribute to ensuring longer-term resilience through training. We are:

  • increasing access to and availability of quality lifesaving medical and mental health services;
  • improving access to and availability of quality nutrition services;
  • reducing the risks and mitigating the consequences of gender-based violence (GBV) while addressing child protection concerns; and
  • improving access to safe drinking water and ensuring proper hygiene practices.

International Medical Corps also coordinates with functioning facilities in Gaza to support patient referrals and ensure continuity of care wherever possible. And to further extend health access and help overcome barriers to care for Gaza’s most vulnerable, International Medical Corps provides services throughout the region by working with trusted partners.

Medical and Mental Health Services

The conflict has severely impacted the delivery of basic services—including health, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)— while reducing supplies of water, food and fuel. Lack of potable water, linked to poor hygiene and sanitation, could trigger risks of infectious-disease outbreaks that the compromised health system in Gaza will not be able to respond to. As in any conflict, mental health needs are high, as the conflict is causing psychological distress and trauma to many, especially those who have witnessed or experienced violence, displacement and loss of loved ones or livelihoods.

Many secondary healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed, leaving behind just a few major hospitals that are focusing mostly on immediate needs, such as emergency and trauma care. The lack of services and medication to treat routine or chronic health conditions could lead to the exacerbation of such conditions, as well as increase the risk of acute illnesses among the population.

In addition to deploying our field hospitals, International Medical Corps is supporting what is left of the health system in Gaza by procuring and delivering essential medications, supplies and equipment to hospitals and health facilities. We also are providing healthcare professionals and first responders with training on how to provide emergency- and trauma-care services, including psychological first aid (PFA). Finally, we are working with trusted partners to deliver primary healthcare and related services.

Nutrition

Increasing malnutrition also is a risk, especially for vulnerable groups that already may have issues accessing food, such as children, the elderly, and pregnant and lactating women.

Restrictions in food, water and other vital supplies have led to increased vulnerabilities for the Gaza population. International Medical Corps, which is expert in delivering infant, young-child and maternal nutrition services and supplies during emergencies, is providing nutrition services directly and through mother-baby spaces (MBS) to help children and their caregivers. International Medical Corps also is providing training for field hospital staff, partner organisations and service providers in counselling skills, referral criteria and providing breastfeeding support.

In addition, International Medical Corps is working closely with local and international partners—including UNICEF and the World Food Programme—to provide assistance. We also are leveraging our network of community health volunteers to monitor local populations for signs of malnutrition. Working in partnership with UNICEF and the Gaza and Palestine Nutrition Cluster, we are implementing the “Find and Treat” campaign to address growing rates of malnutrition among children under 5 in Gaza.

Protection

During times of conflict, risks for gender-based violence and child abuse rise, while unaccompanied minors and orphans are at heightened risk of poor health, malnutrition and violence.

We are working with partners to identify protection risks at shelters and other sites, and are addressing concerns about GBV directly and in coordination with other organisations. We are integrating GBV response services into the medical services that we provide in our field hospitals and in communities, are providing case management and psychosocial support services in women’s and girls’ safe spaces that we already have set up in Gaza, and are training first responders—including women-led organisations—in GBV-oriented PFA.

The child-protection services we provide include referrals for emergency healthcare; identification, documentation and immediate tracing of unaccompanied minors; and emergency alternative care for unaccompanied children. We also provide PFA, psychosocial support, risk mitigation, coordination and advocacy services. We have established mobile child-protection teams staffed by trained community volunteers who identify and refer vulnerable or children at risk, as well as separated or unaccompanied minors, and support and expand our existing child-friendly spaces where we and our partners can provide services.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

To ensure safe and adequate drinking water for households and healthcare facilities, and reduce the risk of water-borne illnesses, International Medical Corps has set up solar-powered water desalination plants that have produced more than 1 million litres of clean water, providing healthcare staff, patients, caregivers and community members with access to clean drinking water. We have improved sanitation services for tens of thousands of people, and promoted better hygiene practices, enhancing community resilience against waterborne illnesses and encouraging infection prevention.

We have safely disposed of tens of thousands of kilograms of medical and domestic waste, safely disposed of more than 1 million litres of wastewater using ground bladders and cesspit tanks, and leveraged our relationships with trusted local partners to set up biowaste disposal, laundry services and disinfection procedures for the field hospitals. Finally, we work closely with other healthcare facilities to provide training to ensure proper implementation of infection prevention and control practices, providing cleaning and disinfecting tools and supplies where necessary.

You can help

Donate today to provide support to families in Gaza affected by the fighting.

Give Now

WHO Visit to International Medical Corps' Field Hospital in Southern Gaza

World Health Organization Representative Dr. Richard Peeperkorn visited our southern Gaza field hospital in mid-February, and talked about the humanitarian needs there.

 

Media Alerts

icon-resource
icon-resource
icon-resource
icon-resource
icon-resource

Resources

icon-resource
icon-resource
icon-resource
 

Situation Reports

icon-resource
icon-resource
icon-resource
icon-resource