The temporary ceasefire agreement in Gaza is a relief, but it arrives more than 465 days and 46,000 lives too late.  While this temporary cessation of fighting and bombing must be both respected and long-term, this is only the beginning in addressing the immense humanitarian, psychological, and medical needs in Gaza.  Israel must immediately end its blockade of Gaza and ensure a massive scale up of humanitarian aid into and across Gaza so that the hundreds of thousands of people in desperate conditions can begin their long road to recovery.

The toll of this hideous war includes the obliteration of homes, hospitals, and infrastructure; the displacement of millions of people that are now in desperate need of water, food, and shelter in the cold winter. The massive destruction has caused pain and suffering to millions of people in the Gaza Strip, while many families in Israel continue to desperately wait for the return of their loved ones taken hostage on 7 October 2023.

For more than 15 months, hospital rooms have been filled with patients with severed limbs and other life-altering trauma, caused by strikes, and distressed people searching for the bodies of their family members. Health facilities and medical staff have been attacked, and eight MSF colleagues have been killed during this war. Meanwhile, the number of people arbitrarily detained from Gaza and the West Bank is appalling.  

MSF remains committed to working around the clock to provide care to people in Gaza. Humanitarian needs have mounted to catastrophic levels; meeting even a fraction of these needs will only be possible through a rapid and massive scale up of global humanitarian aid into and within the Strip. We call on Israeli authorities to urgently ensure humanitarian aid into Gaza, medical evacuations and particularly access to the north which has been under siege since October 2024. We call as well on Israel, Hamas, and other groups and organisations in control of Gaza, to respect the agreement, as well the safe and secure delivery of humanitarian assistance to people.

The Israeli government, Hamas, and world leaders have tragically failed the people of Gaza, by not agreeing and imposing a sustained ceasefire sooner. The relief that this ceasefire brings is far from enough for people to rebuild their lives, reclaim their dignity and to mourn for those killed and all that’s been lost.