DaysofPal- Gaza’s health sector is nearing total collapse, with at least 1,000 patients dying while waiting for medical evacuation due to the continued closure of the Strip’s crossings, according to Gaza’s Director-General of Health, Dr. Munir al-Bursh.
He told Felesteen newspaper that these deaths occurred despite the patients holding official medical referral permits, known as “Form No. 1”, approved jointly by Gaza health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO). Both the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the United Nations have documented the cases, he said.
Al-Bursh revealed that 22,000 patients have been evaluated by joint Palestinian–WHO committees for medical transfers outside the Strip. Of these, 18,100 were approved and issued Form No. 1, entitling them to treatment abroad.
The approved list includes around 5,000 cancer patients, 7,000 wounded individuals, and 5,000 children. Their medical files, he noted, are complete and officially held by the United Nations and WHO, and the only remaining obstacle is the opening of Gaza’s border crossings to allow them to leave.
The health official said that more than 170,000 people have been wounded since the start of the Israeli genocidal war, with most requiring complex surgeries that Gaza’s devastated medical system is unable to provide.
He warned that the shortages of medical supplies are catastrophic: over half of essential medicines are unavailable, 40 percent of emergency medicines are out of stock, and 71 percent of medical disposables, including items like bone fixators, are missing. Even basic materials such as surgical gauze exist only in extremely limited quantities.
Medical fluids of all types, he added, remain available for only one more month, stressing that the recent ceasefire “has changed nothing in the health reality.”
Al-Bursh renewed the call for the urgent opening of Gaza’s crossings and the immediate entry of medical supplies.
He said the WHO has 3,000 trucks carrying medical aid stationed in the Egyptian city of Arish, ready to move the moment entry is permitted. Those trucks, he said, could serve as an instant lifeline for Gaza’s collapsing health sector.
The health chief accused Israel of intensifying the crisis by blocking the entry of medical equipment, supplies, and fuel, even after the ceasefire was announced.
Instead, he said, Israeli authorities have allowed large quantities of non-essential consumer products into Gaza, such as mobile phones, cosmetics, and beauty products.
He described this as “a policy of deliberate strangulation,” saying the Israeli occupation is permitting luxury goods while preventing the entry of items vital for survival, including gauze, antibiotics, and intravenous fluids.
Al-Bursh concluded that the situation in Gaza is “inhumane,” calling the blockade on medical supplies a continuation of the suffering inflicted on thousands of patients and wounded civilians.
He noted that two years of Israeli attacks have left more than 68,000 Palestinians dead and over 170,000 injured, while 90 percent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and clinics, has been destroyed, causing an initial economic loss estimated at $70 billion.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=69922
