The devastation we found in Jabalia is hard to describe; there was nothing left, only rubble. We tried to assess the conditions of health centres. But we visited the first one, and it was flattened. Then the second, the third... Everything was in ruins and reduced to piles of rubble. It’s breathtaking and heartbreaking. Looking at the scale of the destruction, we had no other choice but to act quickly.
The biggest challenge was to start and set up medical activities amid the rubble. It took a week to clear up enough rubble with our rented bulldozer, just to set up a temporary structure. The first week, we parked by the side of the road and began our activities.
Later, we were able to set up tents and shelters where patients could wait for their consultation. The weather was freezing, but still hundreds of patients came every day.
People in Gaza, as well as our teams, are determined to try to rebuild what was lost, despite the unbearable difficulties they face every day. The situation is still very precarious, and we are really worried about the consequences that a blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza could have.
People in Gaza still need an immediate and massive scale-up of humanitarian supplies, and it is unacceptable that an entire population is now once again being prevented from receiving humanitarian aid.”