DasyofPal- Health officials in the Gaza Strip are warning that the territory’s medical system is on the verge of complete collapse after more than two years of war, a tightened blockade, and the continued closure of border crossings.
Hospitals are struggling without sufficient medicines, equipment, or fuel, while thousands of patients remain unable to access treatment outside Gaza, turning the long-running health crisis into a full-scale humanitarian disaster.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says severe shortages have crippled the sector’s ability to deliver even basic medical services.
Alaa Helles, director of the Department of Medical Supplies and Pharmacy, said the lack of medicines and medical consumables now threatens nearly 10,000 surgical procedures.
Helles said that Israeli restrictions on medical aid entering Gaza, often unrelated to hospitals’ actual needs, have resulted in the complete absence of 321 essential medications, accounting for a 52 percent shortfall.
Medical consumables are facing a 71 percent deficit, while laboratory and blood bank supplies have declined by 59 percent, placing the entire health system at risk of paralysis.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Afash, director of Medical Relief in Gaza, described the situation as a comprehensive catastrophe, warning that the territory is heading toward an unpredictable and dangerous collapse.
He said the continued blocking of medical aid, fuel and basic supplies reflects a deliberate policy rather than emergency conditions or administrative failure.
According to Abu Afash, Gaza is facing overlapping crises that extend beyond health care to include environmental damage, food insecurity, water shortages and mass displacement. Although international relief organizations have aid convoys ready, he said access is severely restricted by the ineffective coordination mechanisms, under which only a fraction of requested aid shipments are approved.
He said the pattern, persisting for nearly a year, has resulted in suspended surgeries, the disappearance of basic medicines and a rising number of daily deaths, particularly among children, women, the elderly and people with chronic diseases.
Abu Afash also warned that continued restrictions on medical referrals abroad are effectively condemning thousands of patients to death, adding that any further reduction in international support for Palestinian medical workers would lead to the total collapse of the remaining humanitarian response.
Ismail Al-Thawabteh, head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, said the ongoing closure of the Rafah crossing has significantly worsened the crisis.
He reported that more than 22,000 patients and wounded people urgently need to leave Gaza for treatment, while over half a million surgical procedures are required, far beyond the capacity of the damaged health system.
Al-Thawabteh stated that the Israeli occupation is relying on shifting justifications to keep the crossing closed, deepening the blockade and intensifying the humanitarian emergency.
For patients, the impact is immediate and personal; for example, Ahmed Al-Agha, a 62-year-old heart patient from Gaza City, said he spends hours searching for medication that is no longer available.
“Any interruption could be fatal,” he said, adding that constant fear now outweighs his illness.
Mahmoud Al-Aswad, 23, who was seriously injured when his home in the Shati refugee camp was struck during air raids, said he requires specialized treatment unavailable in Gaza.
“I feel like I’m slowly dying,” he said, describing his wait for the crossing to open as a struggle for survival.
At Al-Shifa Hospital’s heavily damaged kidney dialysis center, 40-year-old patient Yousef Abu Al-Enein said reduced dialysis sessions and shortages of supplies have left him increasingly weak. “We live on the edge of death, not only because of disease, but because of the siege,” he said.
More than two years into the conflict, Gaza’s health system is no longer facing a looming collapse but an entrenched reality, according to medical officials.
As shortages deepen and patient suffering grows, health workers and rights groups continue to question how long Gaza’s population can endure a crisis that they say is unfolding in full view of the international community.
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