MSF official recounts how worker was ‘obliterated’ at Gaza bus stop

2026-03-03 - 08:24

Simon Eccleshall, MSF’s head of programmes in Australia, said 15 MSF staff members had been killed in Gaza since the conflict broke out in October 2023. PETALING JAYA: A Doctors Without Borders (MSF) official recounted the death of a colleague during the war in Gaza, which he says highlights the risks humanitarian workers face working in conflict zones. Simon Eccleshall, MSF’s head of programmes in Australia, said his colleague was waiting at a bus stop for a van that ferried MSF personnel to a hospital in Gaza. He said the MSF staff member was just standing there while several children were also hanging about at the bus stop, before they were all targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “He was standing with a couple of children at this bus stop, and the IDF targeted him and obliterated everybody at that bus stop,” he said somberly. Eccleshall said this colleague was one of 15 MSF staff members who were killed in Gaza since the conflict broke out in October 2023, with some losing their lives in what he claimed were direct attacks on ambulances, health facilities and neighbourhoods close to hospitals. Eccleshall said Israeli authorities had on several occasions accused MSF of employing individuals with links to terrorist groups. However, he said the organisation carried out due diligence checks in its hiring processes and took such allegations seriously. Interestingly, he said, their alleged ties to Hamas were only raised after the MSF workers had been killed. “It’s painful for us that they claimed (our late colleagues had) those connections, which, again, are unevidenced.” The mental toll on humanitarian workers Beyond the physical danger, Eccleshall said there was a significant and often delayed mental health toll on humanitarian workers working in conflict zones like Gaza. “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) doesn’t always present immediately. Sometimes staff return to their home countries and go back to their jobs, and a couple of years later something triggers that PTSD from something they saw working in the field,” he said. Eccleshall said MSF provides psychological briefings before missions, support during deployment, and post-mission debriefings. Staff members who flag mental health concerns continue to receive assistance, even years later. He added that returning home can be challenging for staff members who struggle to explain their experiences to family and friends, making peer support networks within MSF crucial for their recovery. Despite the risks, he said some aid workers dedicate much of their lives to repeated missions in conflict zones. “There’s some people that have done like 20 missions, which makes you think, my God, that’s such a sacrifice,” he said.