Gaza: Medical sources reported today that the remaining hospitals operating in the Gaza Strip are threatened with closure at any moment, with severe overcrowding in inpatient, intensive care, and emergency departments, and an increase in critical cases exceeding their capacity.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, only 45 operation rooms are currently functional out of a total of 312, severely limiting the ability to conduct urgent and complex surgical procedures.
Hospitals in Gaza are grappling with a dire shortage of medicines and medical supplies, particularly impacting services for cancer and heart patients. Nearly half of the essential medicines list is completely exhausted, and the scarcity of medical supplies has reached a critical 65%. Additionally, only 9 of the 34 oxygen stations are partially operational, and diagnostic imaging equipment is non-functional. Fuel shortages for 49 generators further exacerbate the crisis in essential departments.
The report highlights that patients are being prevented from traveling for treatment. Tragically, 338 cancer patients died while awaiting referrals, and another 11,000 were denied treatment after specialist centers were destroyed. A total of 513 patients have also died due to restrictions on travel outside the Gaza Strip for medical treatment.
Kidney failure patients are particularly affected, with 41% of them having succumbed to their condition. In northern Gaza, patients suffer from a total lack of medical care following the destruction of hospitals. Blood banks face severe shortages, and community donation campaigns are ineffective due to widespread anemia and malnutrition, especially among children and infants who lack therapeutic milk and nutrition sources.
Health conditions are deteriorating, with over 59,000 cases of bloody diarrhea, 254,000 cases of respiratory diseases, and 337 cases of meningitis reported. Chronic patients face a lack of medical follow-up and medication, risking serious complications. The rising temperatures, combined with water and hygiene supply shortages, increase the threat of epidemics, while vaccination rates have plummeted to 80%, with a ban on crucial vaccines like the polio vaccine.
The medical sources attribute the crisis to ongoing Israeli aggression and the occupation's obstruction of international organizations' efforts, pushing Gaza's health sector towards collapse and endangering thousands of lives.