Medical Aid for Palestinians have endorsed a statement by heads of UN agencies and international NGOs opposing the creation of so-called "safe zones" in Gaza.

Civilians must be protected wherever they are, and their mass forcible displacement ended and reversed.

The statement outlines that humanitarian chiefs will not participate in the establishment of any ”safe zone” in Gaza that is set up without the agreement of all the parties, and unless fundamental conditions are in place to ensure safety and other needs are met.

Medical Aid for Palestinians has supported ActionAid UK in projecting "Vote Ceasefire Now" onto parliament ahead of the vote in the House of Commons. 

The words “MPs - Vote for Peace: Vote Ceasefire Now” were projected onto Parliament ahead of the vote in the House of Commons.

Amid reports that Israeli forces have entered the Shifa Hospital, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is gravely concerned for the welfare of the 500 staff, 600 patients and thousands of displaced people believed to still be inside and demands their protection.

Medical staff from Shifa Hospital say they have been forced to flee the hospital on foot with critically ill patients through a warzone.

As two-thirds of hospitals in Gaza have now shut down, there is no capacity to receive them, and with barely a trickle of fuel or medicine getting into Gaza, they will not receive the treatment they need. With Israel's indiscriminate bombardment continuing across all areas, they will not reach safety.

Ahead of Monday’s Global Food Security Summit in London, 12 charities call on the British Prime Minister to demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to Israel’s ongoing siege, and the urgent entry of food, fuel, water and other vital aid. Read their open letter below:

Dear Prime Minister

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is relieved to hear that 28 of the surviving premature babies, who were forced out of incubators at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital by Israel’s denial of generator fuel, have been safely evacuated to Egypt.

Three premature babies still remain at the Emirati Field Hospital in southern Gaza. Sadly, two babies died before their evacuation, as Israel’s besiegement of Shifa Hospital deprived them of the care they needed.

Women are being disproportionately and devastatingly impacted by Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and total siege of Gaza. The majority of those injured or killed are women and children, and dire living conditions are exacerbating the risk of malnutrition, diseases, and maternal and newborn mortality.

This International Women’s Day, Amal Zaqout, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)’s Community Programme Officer in Gaza, shares the unimaginable challenges she’s faced over the last five months, as well as her hopes for the future.

Deborah Harrington is a consultant obstetrician at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In December 2023, she volunteered with Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s Emergency Medical Team in Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Hospital.

On International Women’s Day, she spoke to MAP about how Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege of Gaza is impacting women and girls.  

The death toll in Gaza has hit another horrifying milestone today, with a staggering 30,000 Palestinians killed by Israel’s military onslaught, the majority women and children.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) calls for the immediate protection of healthcare workers in Gaza amid widespread attacks on healthcare.

Since 7 October 2023, at least 340 healthcare workers have been killed during Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege, and more than 160 others have been detained, according to the Ministry of Health.