Isabelle Defourny, President of MSF-France, on her return from Gaza

"The scale of the destruction in Gaza is extremely shocking. Around 80 percent of the buildings have been destroyed, and we know, for example, that the vast majority of our Palestinian colleagues have lost their homes. Almost all Gazans were forced to flee their homes to escape the Israeli army's offensives. According to the United Nations, 90 percent of Gaza's 2.2 million inhabitants have been displaced, often several times. More than a million people are crammed into a coastal strip of just 40 square kilometers, an area declared "humanitarian" by the Israeli army, yet which has been the scene of many of its bombardments, causing the deaths of hundreds of people. Families live in deplorable conditions, some in tents, most in shelters made of plastic sheeting and blankets. As soon as it rains, everything floods. These precarious installations will not withstand the coming winter. The people I met in Gaza are essentially asking for shelters that will keep them dry. Access to basic products such as soap is lacking, and is almost impossible to find in Gaza. Some women told me that they had cut their hair because they couldn't wash it."