Gaza’s Healthcare System on Brink as Aid Shortages cripple Lifesaving Services

Gaza City, Palestine – The healthcare system in Gaza is teetering on the edge of collapse, with critical shortages of essential supplies, fuel, and medicines severely disrupting lifesaving treatments and exacerbating a growing child malnutrition crisis.The United Nations is issuing stark warnings, highlighting the devastating impact of ongoing restrictions on aid delivery.

Dialysis Patients Suffer as Al-Shifa Hospital Faces Critical Shortages

Patients requiring regular dialysis are bearing the brunt of the escalating crisis. At Al-shifa Hospital in Gaza City, a patient undergoing dialysis has seen his treatment sessions reduced from three to two per week due to persistent supply shortages, as reported by the UN World Health Institution (WHO) on Tuesday.

“He suffered a lot when dialysis was not available,” shared the patient’s wife, Saadia. “He was suffocating and was frequently admitted to the hospital, to the point where he fell into a coma, lost focus and didn’t recognize anyone.”

the dire situation was temporarily alleviated when WHO, with support from partner organization KS Relief, delivered crucial dialysis supplies and fuel to al-Shifa Hospital. This intervention allowed the hospital to resume dialysis treatment and other essential services.

“Thank God, after restarting dialysis, his condition improved,” Mrs. Zaqqout stated. However, the UN health agency emphasized that these are temporary fixes, reiterating its urgent calls for sustained and large-scale entry of food, fuel, and health aid through all accessible routes.

“Critical shortages of fuel and medical supplies persist across Gaza,” WHO warned. “Without urgent and sustained replenishment, health care services risk coming to a grinding halt.”

Child malnutrition Tragedy Unfolds Amidst Blockade

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, echoed these grave concerns, reporting an increasingly tough environment for providing aid to Gazans. The agency revealed that one in every ten children brought to its clinics is suffering from malnutrition – a condition virtually unheard of in the enclave before the current conflict. The rate of malnutrition in children under five has more than doubled between March and June, a direct outcome of the near-total Israeli siege.”It’s becoming more and more difficult for us to continue providing services,” said UNRWA’s louise Wateridge. She highlighted that at least 188 UNRWA installations, over half of its facilities in Gaza, are located within Israeli-militarized zones or areas under displacement orders.

In an update, Ms. Wateridge detailed the severely limited operational capacity of UNRWA’s health infrastructure. Currently, only six UNRWA health centers and 22 medical points remain operational, supplemented by 22 mobile medical points.

The agency reported that nearly 60 percent of essential medical supplies are out of stock. “Children are dying before our eyes, as we do not have the medical supplies or sustained food to treat them,” UNRWA stated, underscoring the catastrophic humanitarian impact.

Key Medicines Unavailable as Blockade Tightens

As a direct consequence of the Israeli blockade, which began on March 2, UNRWA has announced it has “now run out of” vital medicines.These include treatments for high blood pressure, antiparasitic and antifungal medications, medicines for eye infections and inflammation, all skin treatments, and oral antibiotics for adults.The provision of clean water to the war-ravaged enclave remains a monumental challenge. Only two of UNRWA’s main water wells are still functioning, a stark contrast to the ten operational wells prior to the conflict. An additional 41 smaller wells are operational within UNRWA shelters.

For the past two months, UNRWA has been forced to suspend water and sanitation services for approximately 25,000 displaced individuals in shelters in northern Gaza due to displacement orders issued by Israeli forces.

“The restrictions on the entry of fuel continues placing life-saving services at a severe risk,” the UN agency concluded. “Critical water services are at risk of shutting down if sustained fuel supplies are not permitted entry.”