More than 72,000 people have been killed in Gaza in Israeli attacks that began in October 2023. Reports of ceasefire violations continue, raising concerns over the worsening humanitarian situation.
In a statement issued recently on the occasion of World Health Day, the Palestinian Ministry of Health questioned the failure of the international system to respond, saying the crisis has reached catastrophic levels where basic health rights are being violated, patients are deprived of treatment, and surgeries are carried out under agonizing conditions — a situation it described as reflecting unprecedented human suffering.
According to the ministry, 72,208 people have been killed and 172,068 wounded, including 21,524 children in Gaza — figures that lay bare the devastating human cost of the ongoing violence.
The Ministry of Health said the healthcare system, already battered, is now collapsing under extreme pressure. The ministry said more than half of hospital bed capacity has been lost, while at least 22 hospitals and 90 health centres have been forced out of service due to destruction, shortages and lack of resources.
The ministry said medical teams, stretched beyond limits, continue to work under severe constraints, often without adequate supplies or equipment, as they struggle to treat a relentless influx of wounded.
The ministry said widespread shortages have crippled nearly every aspect of care, with a 50% deficit in medicines, a 57% shortage in medical disposables and a 71% shortage in laboratory supplies. The ministry added that critical treatments — including intensive care, surgery, neurology and kidney services — face shortages exceeding 40%.
The ministry said cancer patients are among the worst affected, with a 61% shortage in specialised oncology drugs for around 4,100 patients. It added that several life-saving procedures, including open-heart surgeries and cardiac catheterisation, have come to a complete halt, while ophthalmic surgery services face an acute 89% shortage in supplies.
“Dialysis services remain under severe strain, with only 108 machines available for 676 patients,” the ministry said, warning that patients requiring regular treatment face an uncertain and life-threatening future.
The ministry said the crisis is deepening beyond hospitals into displacement shelters, where overcrowding, poor sanitation and collapsing infrastructure are driving a surge in waterborne and foodborne diseases.
The ministry said 21,367 patients are waiting for medical evacuation abroad, including critical cases, and 1,517 have already died while waiting, a toll it said continues to rise.
The ministry warned that a crippling shortage of fuel, spare parts and generator supplies now threatens to shut down what remains of the health system. It added that 83 medical personnel remain in detention, further weakening an already overwhelmed workforce.
The Ministry of Health said that even after the ceasefire was declared, 715 more people have been killed, including 223 children, highlighting the continued risks to civilians.
The Ministry of Health said the silence of the international community in the face of the worsening health crisis amounts to an endorsement of what it described as a continuing “health genocide” and the indirect killing of the sick and wounded.
The ministry questioned whether urgent appeals would be addressed, asking if the crisis would find space on international agendas or if Gaza would remain besieged under what it described as policies that prolong suffering and restrict access to life-saving care.