Gaza: Joint statement by MSF UK, Amnesty International UK and Medical Aid for Palestinians
Leading NGOs Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK, Amnesty International UK and Medical Aid for Palestinians call on the UK Government to act to stop the genocide in Gaza. This comes as Israeli forces have killed almost 4,000 Palestinians during the UK's parliamentary recess.
On the day of the first PMQs following Parliament’s summer recess, Amnesty International UK, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) are issuing an urgent joint statement (3 September) demanding that the UK government take immediate action to stop the genocide in Gaza.
The organisations said:
“As the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza continues, the UK government’s continued failure to act decisively in the face of genocide and deliberate starvation and famine is indefensible.
“How many more war crimes does Israel need to commit before the UK government acknowledges these atrocities as a genocide?”
“While Parliament was on recess, the UK government continued to take no meaningful action to stop what is unfolding in Gaza. In those 34 days alone, 3,740 Palestinians were killed – an average of 110 lives lost every single day.
“Now Parliament is back, it must ensure the Government takes urgent and immediate action to hold Israel to account and ensure it ends its genocidal assault.”
During Parliament’s 34-day recess (26 July-1 September):
- Nearly 4,000 Palestinians were killed, bringing the total number of people killed in Gaza since October 2023 to more than 62,966, according to the Health Cluster coordinated by WHO.
- Over 16,000 people were wounded, with more than 150,000 wounded in total
- Malnutrition has tripled in children under the age of 5
- On 25 August, the Nasser Hospital was targeted again in a double-tap airstrike that killed at least 20 people, including MSF colleague Mariam Abu Dagga, and injured more than 50 others
- Access to clean water was blocked by Israeli authorities during a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching 40°C. 13 August marked the hottest recorded day in over 80 years, according to the Palestinian Meteorological Department
- Mass displacement has intensified. Gaza, which is smaller than the Isle of Wight, now sees 87% of its 2 million population forced into just 12% of its territory - primarily in Al Mawasi, an area no larger than Richmond Park in London.
During Parliament's summer recess, MSF-supported teams in Gaza:
- Treated more than 3,500 children under five and pregnant women for acute malnutrition
- Admitted more than 44,000 children to therapeutic feeding programmes
- Operated on more than 2,000 surgical patients, often with limited anaesthetic supplies
- Admitted more than 5,000 people to hospital, many of whom had severely limited access to pain relief
Since the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation scheme on 26 May, hundreds of Palestinians have been shot and killed while attempting to access aid zones. Now, three months later, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has officially declared a famine in Gaza.
Israel’s renewed ground offensive is forcing tens of thousands of people to flee, repeatedly trapping them in a killing zone where every basic necessity – from water to food to healthcare is being weaponised. No place is safe.
Right now:
- Civilians are being bombed or shot while attempting to access humanitarian aid;
- People are dying of starvation, dehydration, and disease;
- There has been a total collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system, engineered through repeated attacks on medical infrastructure and the blockade of medical supplies.
The organisations added:
“Whatever the UK Government is doing, it is nowhere near enough. The failure to act meaningfully to stop this genocide not only demonstrates the UK’s failure to comply with its international obligations, but also a failure in leadership to take decisive and effective action.
“This is not merely a humanitarian crisis – it is a full-blown and man-made human rights catastrophe. The UK must not continue to stand by while civilians are bombed, starved, and systematically denied life-saving aid.
“What’s unfolding is not collateral damage; it is the predictable and preventable result of deliberate policies and actions that amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
“The world and the international courts are watching, and history will judge how UK ministers responded. Expressions of ‘deep concern’ are not enough; the UK must take immediate action to hold Israel accountable and compel it to commit to a ceasefire. Inaction risks complicity. The genocide must end now.”
The UK Government must take action
Amnesty, MSF and MAP urgently call on the UK government to pressure Israel into an immediate and permanent ceasefire by:
- Demanding the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Gaza Strip and the unconditional lifting of Israel’s unlawful blockade.
- Ending all trade or cooperation that contributes to the ongoing genocide, illegal occupation, and other crimes under international law including a ban on all arms transfers and military assistance to Israel.
- Supporting independent, international investigations into all alleged violations of international law, including by the ICC.
MSF and the Gaza genocide
An unprecedented humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza. MSF is clear: We are witnessing Israel commit genocide.
MSF teams are seeing firsthand the campaign of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians being pursued by the Israeli military in Gaza. The UK Government is complicit in these atrocities.
Our teams have worked to treat the wounded and supply overwhelmed hospitals as indiscriminate attacks and a state of siege threaten millions of men, women and children.