Urgent humanitarian assistance continues to be critically needed across the region.
In Israel, we do not have an operational presence, and as is often our practice in such cases, we support trusted partners on the ground who are responding. International Medical Corps is supporting one of our long-time partners—JDC—and its emergency response efforts in Israel. JDC also has supported some of our other humanitarian missions around the world.
In Gaza, where we’ve had staff on the ground since 2008, International Medical Corps is responding. We’ve deployed field hospitals, beginning in January 2024, in southern and central Gaza, and so far have helped more than 400,000 civilians affected by the war. At the height of our response, our consolidated operations in central Gaza had a capability of 250+ beds and helped as many as 2,000 civilians per day. The health services we offer includes emergency and trauma care, obstetric and newborn care, nutrition, child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, and services to address violence against women and girls. We also provide access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, having already supplied clean water to more than 200,000 civilians, and continue to provide medicines, supplies and training.
International Medical Corps has deployed field hospitals in Gaza to help provide civilians with the healthcare they need. These activities are being carried out in close coordination with US, Egyptian, Israeli and Red Cross authorities.
We initially deployed a large field hospital in southern Gaza in early January 2024. This hospital had 160 beds for patients with a wide range of needs, and offered an emergency room, a Level 1 intensive-care unit, operating theaters, a fully stocked pharmacy, X-ray and ultrasound machines, a laboratory and blood-transfusion services. It provided care 24/7 and was serving more than 1,000 civilians every day.
We deployed a second field hospital in Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza, in early May. This hospital began with 50 beds and at the height of our response—after we shifted operations from the southern-Gaza facility—offered more than 250, serving as many as 2,000 civilians every day. We provide a complete range of lifesaving services, alongside integrated nutrition services, child-protection services, mental health care, services addressing violence against women and girls, and facilities and services related to water, sanitation and hygiene. We also are working with local authorities to explore the need for additional facilities and support in the region.
Our multi-pronged, integrated approach focuses on immediate relief to save lives, alleviate suffering and promote well-being, while we contribute to ensuring longer-term resilience through training. We are:
International Medical Corps also coordinates with functioning facilities in Gaza to support patient referrals and ensure continuity of care wherever possible. And to further extend health access and help overcome barriers to care for Gaza’s most vulnerable, International Medical Corps provides services throughout the region by working with trusted partners.
The conflict has severely impacted the delivery of basic services—including health, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)—while reducing supplies of water, food and fuel. Lack of potable water, which is linked to poor hygiene and sanitation, could trigger risks of infectious-disease outbreaks that the compromised health system in Gaza will not be able to respond to. As in any conflict, mental health needs are high, as the conflict is causing psychological distress and trauma to many, especially those who have witnessed or experienced violence, displacement and loss of loved ones or livelihoods.
Most healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed, leaving behind just a few major hospitals that are focusing mostly on immediate needs, such as emergency and trauma care. The lack of services and medication to treat routine or chronic health conditions has led to the exacerbation of such conditions, and has increased the risk of acute illnesses among the population.
In addition to deploying our field hospitals, International Medical Corps is supporting what is left of the health system in Gaza by procuring and delivering essential medications, supplies and equipment to hospitals and health facilities. We also are providing healthcare professionals and first responders with training on how to provide emergency- and trauma-care services, including psychological first aid (PFA). Finally, we are working with trusted partners to deliver primary healthcare and related services.
Malnutrition also poses a risk for civilians, especially for vulnerable groups that already may have issues accessing food, such as children, the elderly, and pregnant and lactating women.
Restrictions in food, water and other vital supplies have led to increased vulnerabilities for the Gaza population. International Medical Corps—which is expert in delivering infant, young-child and maternal nutrition services and supplies during emergencies—provides nutrition services directly and through mother-baby spaces (MBS) to help children and their caregivers. International Medical Corps also is providing training for field hospital staff, partner organizations and service providers in counseling skills, referral criteria and how to support breastfeeding.
In addition, International Medical Corps is working closely with local and international partners—including UNICEF and the World Food Programme—to provide assistance. We also are leveraging our network of community health volunteers to monitor local populations for signs of malnutrition. For example, working in partnership with UNICEF and the Gaza and Palestine Nutrition Cluster, we implemented the “Find and Treat” campaign to address growing rates of malnutrition among children under 5 in Gaza, screening more than 100,000 people during the campaign.
During times of conflict, violence against women and girls as well as child abuse rise, while unaccompanied minors and orphans are at heightened risk of poor health, malnutrition and violence.
We are working with partners to identify protection risks at shelters and other sites, and are addressing concerns about violence directly and in coordination with other organizations. We are integrating response services for violence against women and girls into the medical services that we provide in our field hospitals and in communities, are providing case management and psychosocial support services in women’s and girls’ safe spaces that we already have set up in Gaza, and are training first responders—including women-led organizations—in PFA that focuses on violence against women and girls.
The child-protection services we provide include referrals for emergency healthcare; identification, documentation and immediate tracing of unaccompanied minors; and emergency alternative care for unaccompanied children. We also provide PFA, psychosocial support, risk mitigation, coordination and advocacy services. We have established mobile child-protection teams staffed by trained community volunteers who identify and refer vulnerable or children at risk, as well as separated or unaccompanied minors.
To ensure safe and adequate drinking water for households and healthcare facilities, and reduce the risk of water-borne illnesses, International Medical Corps has set up solar-powered water desalination plants that have produced more than 1 million liters of clean water, providing healthcare staff, patients, caregivers and community members with access to clean drinking water. We have improved sanitation services for tens of thousands of people, and promoted better hygiene practices, enhancing community resilience against waterborne illnesses and encouraging infection prevention.
We have safely disposed of tens of thousands of kilograms of medical and domestic waste, safely disposed of millions of liters of wastewater using ground bladders and cesspit tanks, and leveraged our relationships with trusted local partners to set up biowaste disposal, laundry services and disinfection procedures for the field hospitals. Finally, we work closely with other healthcare facilities to provide training to ensure proper implementation of infection prevention and control practices, providing cleaning and disinfecting tools and supplies where necessary.
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