Gaza’s Nasser Hospital slams MSF’s ‘unsubstantiated’ armed men allegation

Hospital says MSF issued statements that ‘misrepresent facts, mirror narratives historically used to justify’ attacks.

The Nasser Hospital Complex has condemned aid group Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, for pulling out of operations, alleging the presence of armed men and weapons at the facility.

In a statement on Sunday, the hospital said the MSF allegation was “false, unsubstantiated, and misleading” and “posed a serious risk to a protected” civilian medical facility – one of southern Gaza’s last functioning large hospitals.

MSF on Saturday suspended all its noncritical medical operations at Nasser Hospital, citing security breaches that posed “serious” threats to its teams and patients. The Geneva, Switzerland-based charity said there had been an increase in patients and staff seeing armed men in parts of the compound since a United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was reached in October last year.

But the hospital said the MSF issued statements that “misrepresent facts and mirror narratives historically used to justify attacks” on hospitals, “despite full transparency and repeated clarification”.

“Such statements are not neutral. They foreseeably endanger Nasser Hospital Complex, serving over one million civilians, by undermining its protected status under international humanitarian law. MSF is aiding in manufacturing consent for attacks against the hospital,” it said.