FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2024

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As Gaza Attacks and Casualties Surge, Leading Medical Aid NGO Calls for US, International Action to Protect Civilians, Reach Ceasefire

MedGlobal, a leading medical aid NGO that has provided medical care and support in Gaza since 2018, including through four volunteer medical missions since January 2024, expressed alarm today about the intensification of IDF airstrikes in central Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian and health disaster engulfing the Palestinian population throughout the Strip. 

An overnight airstrike on an UNRWA school that was housing displaced people in Nuseirat reportedly killed at least 45 people, with casualties flooding into the already overwhelmed Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital nearby. Amidst the ongoing fighting and particularly in the wake of Israeli forces moving to Rafah and seizing control of the Rafah crossing, the humanitarian aid community is increasingly unable to carry out many of its critical functions, and medical workers in Al-Aqsa and throughout Gaza are working in unimaginable conditions in desperate attempts to provide care. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing hunger and malnutrition. 

MedGlobal operates 10 clinics in Gaza, offering free healthcare to over 5,000 patients daily, and operates the only nutrition stabilization center in Rafah. These critical operations have been continually and increasingly disrupted by the ongoing and intensifying IDF attacks. 

“Without an urgent, decisive action to bring about a lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the upholding of international law, thousands more will die, and the healthcare system in Gaza will move closer to final collapse,” said Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and co-founder of MedGlobal. “We strongly support President Biden’s vision for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement to bring an end to this disaster – and we urge his administration, the international community and all parties to the conflict to now do everything possible to make this vision a reality. The endless suffering, attacks on civilians and violations of international law must come to an end – and the humanitarian community must be allowed to do our vital work unimpeded.”  

MedGlobal leadership, as well as volunteers who have provided medical care in Gaza in recent weeks and months, are available for interviews on the current humanitarian situation. 

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MedGlobal is a humanitarian nonprofit organization that provides emergency response and health programs to build resilience among vulnerable communities around the world.