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.

We, the undersigned organisations, are appalled over the mass forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza resulting from Israel's devastating military assault.

Almost 2 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced within Gaza, with reports indicating Israeli plans for mass displacement outside of Gaza itself.

This humanitarian catastrophe must be addressed urgently within the framework of international law and human rights principles.

Following this week's UN Security Council meeting on the risk of conflict-induced famine in Gaza, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) call for urgent international action as malnutrition reaches critical levels in Gaza, particularly in the north, which is completely cut off from aid.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) demands the urgent protection of thousands of patients, medical staff, and displaced civilians trapped in the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, following the Israeli military’s storming of the facility this morning.

While the world’s attention has focused on Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege on Gaza, military and settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank surged after 7 October 2023 and shows no signs of letting up.

In response to this escalating violence, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is bolstering its emergency response in the West Bank.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) warns that the health and humanitarian disaster in Gaza will reach catastrophic new levels if the Israeli military invades the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. The international community must take urgent action to protect the more than one million people currently sheltering in Rafah, and push for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) welcomes the decision of the International Court of Justice to issue provisional measures in the case presented by South Africa on Israel’s conduct in Gaza. States must now take urgent and immediate action to ensure these are implemented in full, and the unimaginable suffering of 2.3 million people in Gaza ended.