MSF condemns Israeli attack on MSF water distribution site in Gaza City

On Monday, September 15, Israeli forces fired upon a clearly identified Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) water truck while it was distributing 2,600 gallons of drinking water in Sheikh Radwan, a neighborhood in the eastern Gaza City.

The vehicle’s route and schedule had been communicated in advance to the Israeli authorities, as MSF does on a daily basis.

This attack cannot be dismissed as an error. It was a deliberate attempt to sabotage water distribution to civilians who cannot leave the area, particularly the poorest, the sick, and the most vulnerable, living in tents or in the rubble of what used to be their homes.

Only remaining health structure in Sheikh Radwan forced to close

Until September 12, MSF was supporting the emergency room of a primary health care center in Sheikh Radwan. It was the only functional remaining health structure with emergency capacity in that area of the city, and was receiving an average of 1,100 emergency patients per week.

Since the intensification of military operations in the area, the Ministry of Health decided to relocate the clinic to another area, but no suitable location has been found yet. As a result, people remaining in the neighborhood no longer have access to any of the medical services.

A man pushes an elderly man in a wheechair in Gaza City. — Many people in Gaza City are unable to evacuate despite evacuation orders and the intensified military offensive. | Palestine 2025 © MSF

With nowhere safe to go, many are unable to leave despite bombings

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are moving south, but for most people trapped in Gaza City, leaving is not a viable option. Many do not have the means to move, are sick or exhausted, or simply know that there is nothing in the south for them. What services are available are insufficient to support those already there, let alone new arrivals.

Forcing people to leave by targeting remaining shelters and infrastructure—while rendering the provision of humanitarian assistance more and more difficult—is not only brutal, but also illegal.

We call on Israeli authorities to immediately open safe access for the delivery of humanitarian aid, including food and water, and to cease attacks on humanitarian work and civilians. Humanitarian access to civilians must be permitted and protected.

MSF USA staff, medical aid workers, and supporters gather in front of UN headquarters in New York during the September 2025 session of the General Assembly to call on world leaders to take urgent action to stop the genocide in Gaza.

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MSF is calling on states to stop sending weapons to Israel that are being used to kill and maim Palestinians. Providing US military assistance to Israel despite its near-total siege and severe restrictions on humanitarian aid in Gaza is a violation of US law. We are demanding urgent action to comply with US law, help save lives, and ease the catastrophic suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.