Doctors Without Borders, known globally as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has been forced to suspend all operations in Gaza City as of September 26, 2025, citing the escalating danger posed by Israel’s intensifying ground offensive. This move marks a grim milestone for medical care in the besieged territory, where hospitals and clinics have become increasingly inaccessible and overwhelmed in the face of ongoing conflict.
According to The New York Times, the decision came as Israeli tanks and military strikes advanced to within half a mile of MSF’s clinics. Jacob Granger, MSF’s emergency medical coordinator in Gaza, stated, “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.”
In just the week prior to the suspension, MSF’s clinic had provided more than 3,600 consultations and treated over 1,600 individuals suffering from malnutrition—a dire need in a region where, as a United Nations-backed panel recently reported, famine conditions are present. Israel has publicly disputed the panel’s findings and criticized their methodology, but the humanitarian crisis on the ground is undeniable.
The cessation of MSF’s work is only the latest blow to Gaza’s already crippled healthcare infrastructure. The United Nations reported that four hospitals in northern Gaza have become unusable in the past month alone, with one—Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital—severely damaged by an airstrike on September 16, the very day Israel launched its latest ground offensive in Gaza City. Although no fatalities were reported from the strike at Al-Rantisi, vital rooftop water tanks, communication systems, and medical equipment were destroyed, according to the UN. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.
This latest offensive follows an evacuation order issued by Israel before September 16, 2025. By September 20, roughly 640,000 of Gaza City’s nearly one million residents had fled south, according to Israeli military statements. Yet, as Granger pointed out, many of the most vulnerable—including infants in neonatal care and those with severe injuries or life-threatening illnesses—have been unable to leave, trapped by circumstance and the chaos of war.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), called the situation “disturbing and alarming.” He warned, “Attacks on and around health facilities are making it impossible to deliver lifesaving care,” and urged Israel to “ensure safe access and protection for health workers, patients, and medical aid.”
The WHO’s concerns are echoed by Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the agency, who told reporters in Geneva that more hospitals in Gaza may soon be forced to suspend operations due to severe shortages of medical supplies, including blood and blood bags, as well as the persistent lack of fuel to power hospital generators. These shortages have plagued the enclave since the war began, following a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Gaza’s health ministry has also sounded the alarm. Last week, ministry officials warned that unreliable supplies could make access to healthcare even harder in the coming days. As of September 26, only 14 hospitals remain operational across Gaza: eight in Gaza City, and six in the central and southern areas—specifically Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. The United Nations notes that these facilities are now serving a population of 2.2 million people, battered by nearly two years of relentless conflict that has killed more than 65,000, according to local health officials. The ministry’s casualty figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the sheer scale of the devastation is clear.
As the offensive has intensified, the remaining hospitals have been pushed to the brink. The WHO reports that facilities in Gaza City are overwhelmed, struggling to treat the influx of patients injured in ongoing military strikes. Meanwhile, hospitals in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis are flooded with those fleeing the north.
Dr. Khalil al-Daqran, spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, described the conditions as “catastrophic.” On September 26, he reported that the hospital was “completely full of patients and the wounded,” with many being treated in tents set up in the hospital courtyard and others left lying on the floor. He expressed grave concern about the potential for disease outbreaks, given that so many displaced people are now living “in tents surrounded by sewage, garbage, rodents and insects.”
In Gaza City itself, Al-Shifa Hospital—once the leading medical center for the territory—remains barely operational. Its director, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, said on September 26 that about 200 wounded and sick patients were still being cared for, with more arriving daily as the Israeli offensive continued. However, he noted that it had become increasingly difficult to replenish supplies, and both staff and patients feared a possible evacuation order from the military, as had happened at least twice earlier in the war.
The closures and damage to hospitals have drawn international condemnation. Under the laws of armed conflict, hospitals are protected sites and should not be targeted except in the most limited circumstances. Israel has repeatedly claimed that Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, a charge Hamas denies. Regardless, the result is that ordinary Gazans—especially the most vulnerable—are paying a devastating price.
The Gaza health ministry reported 77 deaths in the past 24 hours as of September 27, 2025. With only 14 hospitals left to serve the entire population, the pressure on medical staff and resources is immense. The WHO and other aid organizations continue to call for safe access to health facilities and protection for medical workers, but with the fighting showing no signs of abating, the humanitarian crisis is only deepening.
As the world watches the situation unfold, the suspension of MSF’s operations and the closure of key hospitals serve as stark reminders of the human cost of war. For Gaza’s residents, the struggle for survival has never been more desperate, and the need for urgent international action grows by the day.
