11 May 2021
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) urges the international community, including the UK government, to take urgent and immediate steps to protect Palestinians and ensure their access to medical care amid Israeli attacks across the occupied Palestinian territory.
In Gaza, 28 Palestinians, including 10 children, have been killed by Israeli air strikes according to the Ministry of Health. A further 152 Palestinians have been injured. Residential buildings have been struck by Israeli bombing, including a tower block close to MAP's offices, which was destroyed on Tuesday evening.
The deteriorating situation in Gaza comes amid ongoing violence by Israeli forces against Palestinians across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), 714 Palestinians have been injured in the last 24 hours by Israeli forces, who have repeatedly used rubber-coated steel bullets, beatings, tear gas and sound grenades against civilians protesting Israel’s discriminatory policies and practices in East Jerusalem.
The PRCS report that Israeli forces have persistently impeded the work of their medical teams, preventing access to the wounded and attacking paramedics and ambulances.
“The situation is very tense across Palestine. In occupied East Jerusalem, the brutal response of Israeli forces to civilian protests has caused hundreds of injuries, while also impeding essential medical assistance. Now, in the lead up to Eid al-Fitr, Israeli airstrikes are causing widespread fear and devastation for families in Gaza, where the health sector is already under extreme pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thirteen years of blockade,” said Dr Aimee Shalan, MAP’s CEO.
“Expressions of concern from the international community are not enough. We urge states to take immediate and meaningful steps to bring this violence to an end, and to ensure that violations against civilians and healthcare are met with genuine accountability. International support should also be extended to the beleaguered Palestinian healthcare system as it responds to this fresh crisis,” said Aimee.
MAP’s teams are responding to the deteriorating situation on the ground. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, MAP is providing essential medications, dressings and fluids to the PRCS teams who are treating the wounded. In Gaza, MAP is procuring essential medicines and disposables alongside our ongoing support to the central blood bank.
MAP will continue to monitor events closely and is ready to extend further emergency support during the current crisis as needed.
You can support MAP's emergency response by making a donation today:
Photo credit: Palestinian Red Crescent Society
