"Det akutte menneske"

Often portrayed by Norwegian media with controversial statements, Gilbert is on record criticizing Médecins Sans Frontières for its failure to take positions in conflicts.

On being a doctor as well as a politician, Gilbert has said the two roles are indistinguishable, and that "there is little in medicine that isn't politics".

Gilbert arrived on emergency assignment for the Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC) with the surgeon Erik Fosse to support the humanitarian effort at al-Shifa Hospital during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, a period when foreign journalists were barred from entering the Gaza Strip. As international media reported from outside the conflict zone, Gilbert maintained frequent contact with Norwegian media, as well as segments of the world press, including CNN, BBC, ABC and Al Jazeera.

Following a grenade strike to a Gaza City vegetable market on January 3, Gilbert sent an SMS text to his Norwegian and international contacts, with an appeal for all who read it to pass it on.
“ From doctor Mads Gilbert in Gaza: Thanks for your support. They bombed the central vegetable market in Gaza city two hours ago. 80 injured, 20 killed. All came here to Shifa. Hades! We wade in death, blood and amputees. Many children. Pregnant woman. I have never experienced anything this horrible. Now we hear tanks. Tell it, pass it on, shout it. Anything. DO SOMETHING! DO MORE! We're living in the history books now, all of us! ”

—Mads G, 3.1.09 13:50, Gaza, Palestine.

The ensuing response sparked reports of Gilbert's message on a global scale, and scores of declarations of support to the Norwegian Palestine Committee.

Asked about this incident in an interview with Al Jazeera, Gilbert answered: "...people in Gaza must know that they are not on their own, many people are with them, although we are not there but we are with them and they must not give up, for the people of the free world ponder on your patience and inspire from your strenghth. If you give up then the people behind you will give up..."

The doctors were "received as heroes" by the Norwegian public, and received praise from several commentators. Among critics were right-wing Norwegian FrP party leader Siv Jensen who described Gilbert as a "local politician from Rødt", criticizing that he has been permitted without censorship to act as a voice of anti-Israel propaganda. Melanie Phillips, a columnist for The Spectator and Jennifer Lawinski for Fox News, voiced criticism similar to Siv Jensen's.

Jensen's statements have in turn been strongly criticized by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre, who called her statements "confused" and said that "It is outrageous that she puts into question the integrity of practitioners, who I am sure treat the wounded and injured as they need it. Gilbert and I could completely disagree on political matters, but not on the matters at hand [treatment of civilian casualties].

On January 5, after 10 days of the Israeli heavy air bombardment on Gaza strip, BBC news reporter Rushdi Abu Alouf in Gaza interviewed Dr. Mads Gilbert on the status inside Gaza's AL-Shifa Hospital. In the interview Dr. Gilbert stated that an overwhelming majority of the casualties he had treated were civilians, and women and children alone made up 25% of the death toll, and 45% of the wounded.

On January 8, 2009, while in Gaza, Mads Gilbert was in a video which appeared on CNN which showed the brother of a Palestinian TV producer dying while Gilbert and another doctor worked to save him. This video became subject to controversy as several pro-Israel bloggers made accusations that the scene was staged.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor responded to the Lancet report by criticizing Gilbert for "spreading vicious lies". In statements to Associated Press Palmor claimed, "Dr. Gilbert is notorious for his radical far left opinions and his systematic demonizaton of Israel. He has already accused Israel of almost every nightmarish crime in the book only to ignore the refutation of every one of his allegations", adding, "His stories are worthy of Dante's imagination but have been proved time and again to be far removed from reality. It is a pity that serious members of the medical profession should allow themselves to be dragged into an excessive of mad Mads".

In a response to these statements Gilbert stated: "This is a part of the propaganda war. We are not surprised and take this very calmly. We tell the truth and do not need to lie. If Israel think we are lying, they can just open the borders and let the world's press into Gaza. Then one will soon find out who is lying."

In 2009 he received the Fritt Ord Honorary Award together with Erik Fosse.