Gaza’s health sector is facing a deepening series of crises amid the devastation caused by the Israeli war that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Israel has not only damaged hospitals through raids and strikes but continues to control the entry of medicines and medical supplies, as well as the departure of patients seeking treatment abroad, further complicating an already dire health situation.
Gaza’s Health Ministry warned Saturday that the operating capacity of the remaining oxygen stations had been fully exhausted and that they were working beyond their limits amid repeated breakdowns.
Only 12 of 34 oxygen stations remain operational, under highly difficult technical and mechanical conditions that make it increasingly hard to meet the needs of health facilities and other service providers. The ministry said just four of 30 oxygen-cylinder filling units remain functional and could stop at any moment because engineering teams lack the means to carry out emergency maintenance.
It warned that the remaining stations risk complete shutdown, threatening oxygen supplies to hospitals and patients receiving care at home. The ministry called for the immediate entry of spare parts and technical equipment, as well as the urgent supply of new oxygen stations.
The crisis is also placing severe pressure on kidney patients. The Hind al-Daghma Dialysis Center at Nasser Medical Complex is treating more than 200 patients from across Gaza amid acute shortages of medical supplies, medicines and equipment.
Riyad Barbakh, head of the dialysis department, said demand was rising as equipment and treatment supplies dwindled, creating harsh conditions that had contributed to patient deaths.
Dialysis sessions are the only barrier between life and death for these patients, Barbakh said, warning that any disruption to supplies or equipment could pose an immediate threat to hundreds of lives.
Cancer patients face similarly grave conditions
Mohammed Abu Nada, medical director of the Gaza Cancer Center, warned of an unprecedented deterioration in the condition of cancer patients, saying severe shortages of essential treatments and restrictions on travel threaten about 11,000 people.
Abu Nada said three cancer patients were dying each day from complications, while about 4,000 patients holding official medical referrals for treatment or diagnosis abroad remained unable to leave because of tight restrictions and continued crossing closures.
He pointed that Gaza lacks radiotherapy entirely and faces severe shortages of chemotherapy, with cancer drugs accounting for 61% of medicines in short supply. The destruction of specialized treatment centers has forced medical teams to make difficult clinical decisions, including performing full mastectomies in some early-stage breast cancer cases because radiotherapy is unavailable and travel abroad remains difficult.
Abu Nada called on international health organizations to urgently provide sufficient and sustainable supplies of chemotherapy and specialized medicines and facilitate the evacuation of patients requiring treatment abroad.
The crisis comes as Israel has failed to implement humanitarian provisions of a recent agreement reached in Cairo, including commitments to repair hospitals and allow medicines and medical equipment into Gaza.
Field tensions have also continued despite a partial reduction in Israeli strikes deep inside the enclave.
Three Palestinians were wounded shortly before noon Saturday, one seriously, in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. They were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Israeli artillery also shelled several areas, particularly near the Yellow Line, while major demolitions were reported east of Khan Younis. Israeli vehicles and drones opened fire in several locations, while naval vessels targeted fishing boats operating within one nautical mile of the coast off Gaza City, central Gaza and Khan Younis.
