Jamaine Punzalan

Exhausted and hungry: Palestinians flock to GHF aid distribution sites in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Article (news)

Zen Hernandez

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755241247361NURSE 1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Exhausted and hungry: Palestinians flock to GHF aid distribution sites in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)</div><div> </div>Global condemnation is mounting as the world watches Gaza starve under Israeli blockade. According to the United Nations (UN), civilians in Gaza have been exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement and stripped of dignity due to famine-like conditions caused by nearly three months of aid restriction.Amid the mounting civilian death toll and mass suffering, a Filipino nurse who recently completed a two-month mission in the war-torn territory shared the grim reality he witnessed on the ground.JP Palma, the only Filipino nurse currently assigned to the emergency mission of Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Gaza, described the desperate fight for survival among Palestinians.“Yung mga tao desperate nang kumuha ng aid pero dun sila namamatay, dun sila nasasaktan, and yun yung papasok sa hospitals namin,” Palma told ABS-CBN News in an exclusive interview. “Maliit lang ang Gaza Strip, so every time may explosion, pakiramdam mo nandiyan lang sa tabi mo. Then meron ding mga internal conflicts na nagbabarilan. Tapos laging may drones. Ang hirap magkaroon ng peace of mind, dahil iniisip mo yung patients, kung paano ka na naman kukuha ng lakas the next day.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17552412732041755241270364.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Palestinians risk lives for small amount of food and aid. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)</div>The nurse worked at a field hospital with just 90 beds, yet more than 150 wounded patients arrive daily. Many are victims of gunfire or bombings, while others suffer from injuries sustained during chaotic aid distributions.Palma recalled some of the most heartbreaking cases.“Maraming bata na bilateral amputation, both legs wala. Tapos mga burn patients na, 2 years old napaka-cute na bata, pero sunog yung mukha. Pero hindi niya alam ang nangyayari. Ang masakit para sa akin personally, yung iyak ng mga bata na naririnig ko everyday na napakahirap tanggapin na, na-e-experience nila ito sa buhay nila,” he said.Palma also explained how hunger and malnutrition is adding to the suffering of the civilians.“Sa tatlong health facilities namin, increasing ang trend ng moderate and severe acute malnutrition cases. Lalo na sa mga bata,” he begins.“Sobrang nakakaapekto yon sa medical care, sa medical condition ng mga tao. May mga pasyente kami na after surgery, hindi nagre-recover. So ibabalik namin sa operating room kasi nag-develop ng infection. Yung surgical site hindi naghi-heal dahil wala kang proper nutrition, kahit may gamot pa yan, hindi maghi-heal yan…Imagine yung suffering ng mga pasyente na two, three times bubuksan mo.”Even them, as hospital staff, were not spared from the dire living conditions due to the scarcity of food.“As a staff, one meal a day, and without proteins. Ang iniisip ko na lang yung (local) staff namin, almost 2 years na nilang ginagawa ito. So kung malakas sila, kaya din namin,” he said.“Nagdu-duty sila ng 8 hours, 16 hours in a day na gutom. Sila din mga biktima sila. Pagkatapos ng work nila sa hospital namin, mag-iigib pa sila ng tubig, mag-iisip sila paano ko pakakainin yung anak ko.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17552413094031755241307259.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>MSF doctors at the Al Mawasi Clinic treating patients with severe injuries. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)</div>Palma admitted nobody is safe in Gaza and his family worried about his physical safety and well-being, especially his 78-year old mother. But he tells them, he is committed to humanitarian work.“Nag-umpisa ako sa Philippine Red Cross as a first aid instructor and volunteer. Then may opportunity sa ICRC. Yun yung first na-expose ako sa humanitarian work…Simula noon, nag-decide ako, ito na gagawin ko habambuhay.”Before Gaza, Palma had served four years in Ukraine, also with Doctors Without Borders. Despite just returning to the Philippines, he is determined to go back to Gaza in September.“Hindi ko maalis yung isip ko sa team na naiwan doon at sa continuous suffering ng mga tao,” he said, adding that the most urgent need in both Ukraine and Gaza is a permanent ceasefire.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17552413441251755241339285.png" style="width:500px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Nurse JP Palma, the lone Filipino nurse who served in a recent Gaza emergency mission by the Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Courtesy of Doctors Without Borders (MSF)</div>According to figures gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO) from the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 152,000 injured in nearly two years of Israeli military operations. Almost 1,400 Palestinians have also died while seeking food, due to Israeli attacks along aid convoy routes and even around the aid distribution hubs of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF is an Israeli and United States backed non-profit, established in February 2025 as an alternative aid-delivery mechanism, to avoid alleged Hamas interference. But its operation has sparked controversy after its highly militarized aid sites turned into hazardous “death traps” due to alleged indiscriminate firing by Israeli forces.“Most of them with shots in the lower part of the body, which shows intentionality. Most of the patients are grown men, but even children…We ask for the end of the distribution centers because they are a deadly trap,” says Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza’s Al Mawasi Clinic.“We’re being slaughtered because of hunger…They make us run, they humiliate us. I’ve been injured maybe 10 times,” says Mohammed Tabasi, a patient at MSF’s Al Mawasi clinic.Israel has so far implemented so-called “tactical pauses” since July 27, to faciliate aid distribution. It has also allowed several countries to airdrop supplies - which proved fatal for some civilians, who were crushed by the heavy packages. Last August 5, UN experts has called for the dismantling of the GHF for alleged breach of international law and underscoring the need for international oversight.“According to the Geneva Convention IV and the Hague Regulations, civilians in occupied territory must be protected and provided with essential services. Humanitarian relief operations must be protected and facilitated, but must also strictly respect the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,” a press release from the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner stated.<div> </div>“Under any circumstances, when war crimes are overlooked in exchange for temporary relief, impunity can become normalised. Yet, in this case, we are leaving a State accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in charge of feeding the population affected by the genocide without oversight and with impunity. This overt hypocrisy is disturbing,” it further said.Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu however, strongly denied having any “starvation policy” on Gaza and blamed both Hamas and the UN for the limited supply of aid in the crisis-stricken enclave.“Our policy throughout the war has been to prevent a humanitarian crisis, while Hamas’ policy has been to create it. Since the beginning of the war, Israel has let in close to 2 million tonnes of aid. I know of no other army, that enabled, has enabled such aid to go to the civilian population, in enemy territory. Now if we have a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would have survived after 2 years of war,” Netanyahu said in a media briefing last August 10.“Hamas has violently looted the aid trucks, meant to get to Palestinian civilians. They deliberately created a shortage of supply. And the UN consistently refused until recently, to distribute the thousands of trucks that we let into Gaza through the Kerem-Shalom crossing,” he continued.Netanyahu also defended Israel plans of full military control in Gaza, saying it is the “best way to end the war.” It can be remembered that Israel launched its military operations in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack, that killed over 1,200 civilians, including four Filipino caregivers in Israel.“No nation can accept the genocidal terrorist organization, an organization committed to its annihilation, a stone’s throw from its citizens. Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists,” he further said.But Israel’s plan came under heavy criticism during an August 10 emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. A number of countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Greece, Slovenia, China and Russia deemed the plan a violation of international law that would only endanger lives. The US meanwhile defended Israel, by saying it is working to free hostages to end the war. However, protesters in Israel, including families of hostages, have taken the streets to oppose the plan as well. Reports indicate there are still 20 remaining hostages in Gaza.<div> </div><div> </div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BB-sdcv0XVk??si=npfoiRiJW_xqgXdV&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Amid the mounting civilian death toll and mass suffering in Gaza, a Filipino nurse who recently completed a two-month mission in the war-torn territory shared the grim reality he witnessed on the ground.

Amid the mounting civilian death toll and mass suffering in Gaza, a Filipino nurse who recently completed a two-month mission in the war-torn territory shared the grim reality he witnessed on the ground.

Filipino nurse recounts harrowing scenes from Gaza

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Filipino nurse recounts harrowing scenes from Gaza

Zen Hernandez,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 14, 2025 10:24 PM PHT

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Updated August 15, 2025 03:02 PM PHT

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