Doctors Without Borders announced on Monday that it has been forced to suspend its medical activities in Gaza City due to the intensified Israeli attack.

The organization said in a statement released by its Lebanon office: “The ongoing Israeli attack in Gaza City has forced Doctors Without Borders to suspend its vital medical activities in the area due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation, including continued airstrikes and tanks advancing to less than one kilometer from our healthcare facilities.”

The statement added: “The escalating attacks by Israeli forces have led to an unacceptable level of risk to our staff, forcing us to suspend life-saving medical activities.”

The statement quoted Jacob Granger, the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza, saying: “We have no choice but to stop our activities because our clinics are now surrounded by Israeli forces. This is the last thing we want, as the needs in Gaza City are enormous, and the most vulnerable people – newborns in the neonatal care ward and those seriously injured or with life-threatening illnesses – are immobile and face grave danger.”

The statement noted that large numbers of residents have fled south due to evacuation orders, while “hundreds of thousands remain in Gaza City, unable to leave and with no option but to stay.”

It added: “Those able to leave face an impossible choice: either stay in Gaza amid intense military operations and a collapse of law and order, or abandon what remains of their homes, possessions, and memories and move to areas where humanitarian conditions are rapidly deteriorating.”

The statement continued: “Hospitals partially operating across the sector suffer from severe shortages of medical staff, supplies, and fuel, while patients face enormous difficulties accessing care and often arrive late and in critical condition.”

It added: “Restrictions on access to safe drinking water, food, shelter, healthcare, and the ability to provide them are increasing. Gaza residents are subjected to relentless and repeated bombardment. People are exhausted and deliberately deprived of the basic necessities to survive.”

Doctors Without Borders called for “an immediate end to violence and concrete, widespread measures to protect civilians. Israeli authorities must immediately and unimpededly ensure access for humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, guarantee their safety, and provide acceptable conditions for the safe and sustainable delivery of medical care and humanitarian aid, conditions that are clearly not available today.”