Gaza’s 2.1 million people are suffering a major humanitarian crisis. The escalation of the conflict since October 7, 2023, has displaced more than 80% of the population, leaving them with limited access to healthcare, food, water and other essential services.
International Medical Corps has provided lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection services in Gaza since 2008. To meet the urgently increasing needs of the population, we have stepped up our healthcare, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response services.
We have deployed fully equipped field hospitals, and are working with UNICEF and the Gaza and Palestine Nutrition Cluster to implement a campaign to screen for and treat malnutrition among children throughout Gaza.
male/female
per 1,000 live births
Gaza’s healthcare system has been severely damaged by conflict; the facilities that remain are experiencing shortages of medical supplies and fuel.
Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced from their homes and has limited access to food, healthcare, water and other essentials.
The ever-changing security situation and ongoing tensions compound the challenges of humanitarian response in Gaza.
International Medical Corps has provided humanitarian assistance in Gaza since 2008. Before the escalation of conflict on October 7, 2023, our work focused on implementing emergency preparedness and coordination projects, and on providing primary and secondary healthcare, MHPSS, child protection, and GBV prevention and response services.
Following the conflict’s escalation, we adapted our services to meet the dire humanitarian needs of Gazan civilians, including establishing large, fully functional field hospitals to provide civilians with surgical and trauma services, outpatient services, MHPSS, GBV, CP, nutrition, and WASH services.
We provide extensive primary healthcare services at our field hospitals, including trauma, emergency services, wound care and physiotherapy; outpatient consultations for adults and children; prevention, early detection and treatment of non-communicable diseases; routine immunizations; and sexual and reproductive health education and services.
In the West Bank, we support a local partner providing primary healthcare services in Taybeh and neighboring communities in Ramallah governorate through clinic-based and community-based outreach activities, with integrated MHPSS services.
Though we previously helped local partners deliver secondary healthcare services, since establishing our field hospitals we have also provided secondary healthcare services onsite. Our hospitals have featured a Level 1 intensive-care unit, X-ray, laboratory, ultrasound, pharmacy and blood transfusion facilities. We carry out trauma, orthopedic and obstetric surgeries in our operating theaters, and provide a full range of maternal-care services, including C-sections, and antenatal and postnatal care.
Working with local partners, we also train health staff in patient safety and infection-prevention and control practices. We provide critical medical supplies and equipment to local partners and free pharmaceuticals to people who would otherwise be unable to afford them.
Our MHPSS programming promotes well-being, protects against additional distress or potential psychiatric emergencies, and includes core training and supervision to ensure high-quality implementation. Since the escalation of the conflict, we have increased our services, providing daily emotional and psychological first aid (PFA) to alleviate distress and promote resilience among those affected by the conflict.
Our MHPSS services are integrated with the other health services we provide. Our teams offer PFA, community outreach and psychoeducation, individual case management, structured group activities and capacity-building for local professionals and community leaders, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
Already a provider of CP services in Gaza, we have expanded our programming since the deployment of our first field hospital. Our child-friendly safe-space tents enable children to socialize and access mental health resources. Offering PFA, non-structured activities and other CP interventions, our teams provide immediate support and comfort to children experiencing distress. We also provide case management and psychological counseling sessions to children, with tailored support to address their specific needs.
Recognizing the needs of vulnerable people, particularly women and girls in conflict-affected settings, International Medical Corps’ GBV teams conduct awareness sessions, PFA sessions, individual GBV sessions and targeted interventions to address GBV effectively. Our sessions educate the community on how to recognize and prevent GBV, as well as its consequences, helping people to identify and report instances of violence. Through specialized case-management services, the team ensures that GBV survivors have access to medical care and psychosocial support.
To ensure that vulnerable patients receive holistic assistance, we integrate MHPSS, GBV and CP services with services provided by different medical departments. Our protection teams coordinate closely to ensure that cases are referred externally and internally to the various available services and organizations operating in Gaza. We provide specialized and non-specialized protection training to our own and to other organizations’ staff.
We are implementing a “Find and Treat” campaign to address growing rates of malnutrition among children in Gaza, working closely with UNICEF and the Gaza and Palestine Nutrition Cluster. This involves mass screening across all districts, treating malnourished children and referring those who need additional treatment to outpatient therapeutic programs. We also prioritize screening of pregnant and lactating women, and other vulnerable people, at our facilities and in the surrounding communities, treating moderate acute and severe acute malnutrition cases and providing essential nutritional support. We offer infant and young-child feeding counseling services, and provide ready-to-eat meals to patients at our hospitals.
The work of International Medical Corps’ WASH team is key to providing care to civilians at our field hospitals. We installed water supply infrastructure—including a solar-powered desalination plant and submersible water pump—and filling points at different locations. We added sanitation infrastructure, such as collection bladders, toilets, showers and handwashing stations. We also conduct hygiene-promotion activities focusing on different topics, such as handwashing, safe storage of solid waste, preventing waterborne diseases and more.
International Medical Corps builds communities’ capacity to respond to and prepare for natural disasters through disaster risk-reduction programming. Our services focus on prevention and protection, including reducing the number of people affected by disasters, reducing the damage to critical infrastructure and preventing the disruption of basic services at the community level.
The current humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic, with major shortages of food, clean water and medical supplies. Most of the population has been displaced—often more than once—and what is left of the healthcare system is overwhelmed. Difficulties getting aid and personnel into the area have compounded the challenges of providing essential care and services for the vulnerable population.
Food insecurity was already widespread in Gaza prior to the escalation of conflict on October 7, 2023. Since then, disruptions to the delivery of supplies, including food, into Gaza have plunged the population into a deeper food insecurity crisis. By implementing the Gaza-wide “Find and Treat” campaign, we are providing critical care for children experiencing malnutrition.
Our field hospitals have been central to our response providing the full range of trauma and other healthcare services, including MHPSS, protection, nutrition and WASH services. Operating 24/7 and seeing as many as 1,500 patients per day, the field hospitals’ staff and volunteers work around the clock to save lives and provide critical care.
We’ve responded to the world’s worst disasters since 1984. But we can’t do it without your help. By donating to International Medical Corps, you can help us save lives in Gaza and respond to other crises worldwide.