MSF Chief urges immediate ceasefire in Gaza, highlights dire impact on children

Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), commonly known as Doctors Without Borders, delivered a compelling address to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday (22 Feb), urging an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine, during the monthly meeting on the region.

He stressed the crucial necessity of safeguarding medical facilities, staff, and patients in the conflict-ridden area.

Expressing deep concern for the dire situation in Rafah, where more than 1.5 million people are trapped amid the impact of Israel’s military campaign, Lockyear highlighted the urgent need for international intervention.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been further intensified by severe shortages in essential medical resources.

A lack of hospital beds, medications, and supplies has forced surgeons into distressing decisions, including performing amputations on children without anesthesia.

Pregnant women in Gaza are enduring months without proper medical care due to the ongoing crisis, with women in labor facing the distressing reality of being unable to reach functional delivery rooms, resulting in births taking place in makeshift environments such as plastic tents and public buildings.

Medical teams on the ground introduced a chilling new acronym, WCNSF, representing “wounded child, no surviving family.”

This underscores the heart-wrenching aftermath of the conflict, with surviving children bearing both visible wounds from traumatic injuries and enduring invisible scars from repeated displacement, constant fear, and the horrifying experience of witnessing family members dismembered before their eyes.

The psychological toll on these young survivors is evident, with children as young as five expressing a preference for death as a means of escaping the profound trauma they have endured.

Lockyear strongly criticized the United States during his address, expressing dismay at the country’s repeated use of its veto power to block the council’s efforts in demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants, particularly Hamas, in Gaza.

Urging for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, Lockyear stated that anything short of this would be considered gross negligence on the part of the international community.

“The people of Gaza need a ceasefire not when ‘practicable,’ but now,” he emphasized.

Lockyear concluded by challenging the council, asking, “Today our staff are back at work risking their lives once again for their patients. What are you willing to risk?”

UN ambassadors express strong reactions to MSF briefing on Gaza

Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood, in response to Lockyear’s briefing, did not explicitly acknowledge his claims.

Instead, he emphasized U.S. efforts to push Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and cautioned against a ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, without a viable plan to protect civilians.

Wood underscored the importance of council support for diplomatic efforts to pressure Hamas into accepting the agreement on the table.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun expressed his dismay, stating that he felt “appalled” by Lockyear’s briefing to the council.

Zhang hoped that Lockyear’s vivid portrayal of the situation in Gaza could touch the conscience of a specific member of the council — most likely the US, since it had vetoed three times against resolutions in the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward described Lockyear’s briefing as “harrowing.”

In the Tuesday vote, Britain abstained, while the remaining 13 council members voted in favor of the Algerian-drafted resolution.

Slovenia’s U.N. Ambassador to the Security Council, Samuel Zbogar, questioned the council’s response to Lockyear’s briefing, asking, “What kind of a council have we become if we remain untouched by the tearful briefing that we heard today by the secretary general of Médecins Sans Frontières?”