DaysofPal- Over a year into the Israeli war on Gaza, life in the besieged enclave has spiraled into misery and despair. The war has exacerbated the collapse of critical systems, most tragically the healthcare sector, leaving a trail of death and devastation.
Hundreds have died as Gaza’s crumbling health infrastructure struggles to function, crippled by severe shortages of medicine and medical supplies.
For patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses, the situation is a slow march toward catastrophe.
Health System in Ruins
An estimated 350,000 people in Gaza suffer from chronic illnesses, including 71,000 with diabetes, 225,000 with hypertension, 45,000 with cardiovascular diseases, and thousands battling cancer and kidney failure.
These patients face an acute crisis as Gaza’s health sector, battered by war and blockade, can no longer meet their needs. The statistics, provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, paint a grim picture: the lack of essential medicines, coupled with the destruction of healthcare facilities, has turned survivable conditions into death sentences.
Cancer and Genocide
For Hiyam Fawzi Al-Sawafiri, 58, a breast cancer survivor from northern Gaza, the war has turned survival into a nightmare. Diagnosed in 2018, Hiyam underwent a mastectomy and relied on regular treatments to keep her condition under control.
But when Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza’s cancer care centers, including Al-Rantisi Hospital and the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, her access to life-saving medication vanished.
“My life turned upside down,” she says with a voice heavy with anguish. The absence of treatment has left her with severe complications: burning pain in her chest, degenerative spine issues, and chronic respiratory problems.
With medical supplies scarce and proper nutrition out of reach, Hiyam’s health has deteriorated rapidly.
“Our food now is mostly canned goods,” she explains, tears welling up. “These are dangerous for cancer patients, but we have no choice.”
Her weight has plummeted by 20 kilograms, and her condition is worsened by the lack of cooking gas and fuel, forcing her to cook over open flames.
“This war took everything,” she whispers, her pain mirrored in her eyes.
Loss and Grief
Hiyam’s suffering is compounded by unbearable grief. She recently lost her sister, also a cancer patient, to the war’s unrelenting hardships.
Her sister missed a critical chemotherapy session due to the lack of medicine, succumbing to her illness in January 2023. “We didn’t get our right to treatment or to live with dignity,” Hiyam says, her voice cracking.
“Now, I live in fear—not just for myself but for those who come after us.”
Displacement and Desperation
In Gaza’s northern city of Beit Lahiya, 70-year-old Amal Al-Shanbari has been displaced to a shelter, where she faces another humanitarian crisis. Amal, who suffers from chronic hypertension, relied on consistent medication to manage her condition.
Now, her son describes the situation as hopeless: “Before, it was difficult to get her medicine. Now, it’s impossible.”
Hospitals in northern Gaza have been reduced to emergency care only, leaving chronic disease patients without recourse. Amal, like thousands of others, has been left to navigate the ruins of a healthcare system that can no longer support them.
War on Medicine
Dr. Saeed Salah, the medical director at Gaza’s Friends of the Patient Hospital, warns of a looming catastrophe. “The northern areas—Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun—are under siege. Hospitals are overwhelmed with injured civilians, while essential medicines and supplies are nearly depleted.”
The shortages extend beyond chronic illness medications to basic items like antibiotics and painkillers. “Even the simplest treatments are unavailable,” Salah says, emphasizing the dire consequences for a population already ravaged by war.
Adding to the crisis, displaced families crowd into shelters and destroyed homes, where unsanitary conditions, water contamination, and malnutrition fuel the spread of disease.
Respiratory infections, intestinal illnesses, and flu-like symptoms are becoming alarmingly common, particularly among children and the elderly.
Deadly Winter Ahead
With winter approaching, Gaza braces for worsening health conditions. The blockade and ongoing genocide have forced its people into “a state of survival,” Salah warns. “If patients don’t get the right treatment, complications will escalate, leading to more deaths.”
Hiyam, Amal, and thousands of others are left to endure the unimaginable—a life of unrelenting pain, fear, and loss. “We are resilient,” Hiyam says, her voice breaking. “But we are human. We need medicine. We need dignity. We need hope.”
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=58894
