Gaza’s Health System Near Collapse Amid Israeli Siege and Medical Shortages

Watan-The drug warehouses of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip appear nearly empty, in a scene that reflects the depth of the health catastrophe resulting from the severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, due to the tight Israeli blockade and the closure of the crossings for nearly two months.

At the entrance of one of the warehouses, a distribution worker stands empty-handed — no boxes are arriving, no supply trucks are unloading — while inside, the shelves are almost bare and the medicine drawers are sealed in emptiness. This scene illustrates the depth of the health crisis in Gaza, caused by Israel’s closure of the crossings since March 2 to humanitarian, medical, and food aid as well as goods, leading to a major deterioration in the humanitarian situation, as confirmed by government, human rights, and international reports.

The Ministry of Health has warned that the continuation of this situation could lead to the total collapse of the healthcare system and put the lives of thousands of patients — especially those with chronic and serious diseases — at imminent risk of death, as the health sector is unable to provide even the minimum required care.

Severe Shortage of Medicines in Gaza

Dr. Alaa Helles, Director General of Pharmaceutical Care at the Ministry, told Anadolu Agency that “more than 37% of the essential medicine list is unavailable in the Ministry of Health’s warehouses, along with a shortage exceeding 59% in the list of medical consumables required for all health services.” He added that “this shortage directly affects all specialties and medical services, including cancer and hematology treatments,” noting that over 54% of the medications allocated for these conditions are missing. He also pointed out that “more than 24% of the medicines needed for dialysis patients are unavailable, while the sector suffers a 23% shortage in materials needed for surgical operations and intensive care.”

The Palestinian doctor confirmed that primary healthcare in hospitals and health centers across Gaza lacks around 40% of the essential medicines. This health and humanitarian deterioration is occurring alongside continuous Israeli escalation across Gaza, which is causing dozens of casualties every day.

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in more than 166,000 Palestinian casualties, most of them women and children, and over 11,000 missing persons. Dr. Helles said his ministry “is submitting detailed reports on the pharmaceutical reality in the Strip to all international bodies operating in Gaza, including the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Emirates Red Crescent, and other organizations in an attempt to reduce the shortage.” The ministry has also repeatedly appealed to the concerned institutions to provide the needed medicines or reduce the gap, according to Helles, who stressed that the continued closure of the crossings would worsen the pharmaceutical situation and double patients’ suffering.

Gaza Faces Total Collapse

Israel has been besieging Gaza for 18 years. Around 1.5 million of its roughly 2.4 million residents are now homeless after the genocide destroyed their homes. The Strip has entered a famine stage due to Tel Aviv’s closure of the crossings to humanitarian aid.

Helles warns that if the situation continues, the suffering will intensify and “many patients will face serious complications, possibly resulting in death, amid the pain of illness and the anxiety of families who have no way to save their loved ones.” As for whether the ministry has other ways to reduce the danger, the Palestinian doctor noted they are working on alternative treatments to try to handle the crisis, but cautioned that “this solution doesn’t apply to all cases,” adding that “changing a patient’s prescribed treatment could endanger their life and directly affect the quality of healthcare.”

On Wednesday, the Government Media Office in Gaza warned of the imminent risk of mass deaths “due to hunger, lack of healthcare, and the spread of disease.” It said it is warning “of the humanitarian situation in the Strip entering a phase of total collapse, due to the systematic starvation and siege policies imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on its residents for more than six months.” It affirmed that the Strip “is experiencing a true humanitarian catastrophe and an obvious famine, where hunger directly threatens the lives of the civilian population, especially more than 1.1 million children suffering from severe malnutrition due to the absence of food, water scarcity, and the near-total collapse of the health system, as well as depriving people of the bare minimum for survival.”

On April 9, UNRWA warned that Gaza is nearing a phase of “extreme hunger” due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, with remaining essential supplies on the verge of running out. Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s Director of Communications, said that infants and children in Gaza “are going to sleep hungry” as the limited essential supplies are nearly depleted.

This new phase of famine comes at a time when Palestinians in Gaza have not yet recovered from a previous wave of war. Over the past year and a half of genocide, Israel has severely restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, depriving hundreds of thousands of poor families from receiving their free food rations. According to World Bank data, the genocide committed by Israel has rendered all Gazans poor, meaning they are now unable to provide the most basic necessities for their families — food and water.