ISTANBUL

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced Friday it has been forced to suspend lifesaving medical activities in Gaza City as Israeli forces intensified their offensive, encircling clinics and placing patients and staff at grave risk.

“The unacceptable level of risk has led us to reluctantly decide to suspend our lifesaving activities in Gaza City,” the organization said in a statement, adding that advancing Israeli tanks are now less than one kilometer from MSF facilities.

Jacob Granger, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, said the group had no choice but to halt operations.

“We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities, as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces. This is the last thing we wanted, as the needs in Gaza City are enormous, with the most vulnerable people, infants in neo-natal care, those with severe injuries and life-threatening illnesses, unable to move and in grave danger,” he said.

MSF noted that while many have fled south following evacuation orders, hundreds of thousands remain trapped in Gaza City.

“Those who are able to leave face an impossible choice: either remain under intense military operations and the deterioration of law and order, or abandon what’s left of their houses, their belongings, and their memories,” the group said.

Despite mounting hostilities, MSF clinics carried out over 3,600 consultations and treated 1,655 malnutrition cases last week alone, alongside trauma patients, burn victims, pregnant women, and others requiring ongoing medical care.

The group warned that hospitals across Gaza are overwhelmed and running on limited staff, supplies, and fuel, leaving patients in critical condition.

“People in Gaza City have been repeatedly and relentlessly bombed. They are exhausted and are being deliberately deprived of the essentials needed to survive,” MSF said.

MSF reiterated its call for an immediate cease-fire and demanded Israel guarantee “unhindered access and security for humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza City, and acceptable conditions for the safe and sustained delivery of medical care.”

While activities in Gaza City have ceased, MSF said it continues to support hospitals and field clinics in southern and central Gaza, including facilities in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.