Gaza's battered health system is rapidly unravelling due to an illegal blockade by Israel , which has unleashed restrictions, supply shortages, and the systematic destruction of medical infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of patients trapped.
What was once a fragile system operating under years of illegal Israeli blockade is now, according to Palestinian health officials, approaching "total collapse" as hospitals struggle to function amid severe shortages of medicines, equipment, and fuel, while the number of wounded and chronically ill continues to rise.
At the heart of this collapse lies a tightening Israeli regime of restrictions on the entry of medical supplies and the movement of patients, which doctors say is turning treatable conditions into death sentences.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Gaza City 's Al-Shifa Hospital, told The New Arab that "the situation is stark."
"The territory," he said, "has reached its worst point with the health system nearing complete breakdown."
More than half of essential medicines are now unavailable, while roughly 70 per cent of medical supplies have been depleted, severely limiting hospitals' ability to provide even basic care.
"The system is no longer able to respond to the growing needs", Abu Salmiya warned, pointing to a widening gap between demand and capacity that is costing lives daily. Patients left to wait — and die Nowhere is the crisis more visible than among patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses, many of whom are being quietly pushed towards death as treatment options disappear.
An estimated 4,500 cancer patients in Gaza are currently at risk due to the near-total absence of chemotherapy drugs. For many, delays are no longer measured in weeks but in lost chances of survival, according to Abu Salmiya.
"At the same time, more than 22,000 wounded and sick people are awaiting permits to leave Gaza for treatment unavailable inside the Strip," he said, adding that "around 1,400 have already died while waiting."
The Ministry of Health reported that at least six patients are dying every day as a result of delayed access to treatment, whether due to restrictions on supplies or the denial of travel permits.
Behind these numbers are deeply personal stories of endurance and fear.
In Jabalia refugee camp, 52-year-old Mahmoud al-Shaer, a kidney failure patient, describes a life dictated by uncertainty.
Dialysis sessions that followed a strict schedule have become irregular, often reduced or cancelled altogether due to shortages of fuel or medication.
"I used to have three sessions a week. Now sometimes we wait for hours, and sometimes we are sent back home without treatment," he told TNA .
The consequences are immediate and severe. Mahmoud suffers from acute anaemia caused by the lack of essential drugs, leaving him in a constant state of exhaustion and dizziness.
"I feel like my life is hanging by a thread, dependent on a machine that could stop at any moment," he remarked. The situation is equally perilous for patients dealing with heart issues.
Amina al-Haddad, 61, lives in daily fear of a stroke. Diagnosed with coronary artery disease, she relies on blood thinners that have been unavailable in pharmacies for weeks.
"I am afraid any moment could be the end, even a small pain in my chest terrifies me," she told TNA .
She had been scheduled for a cardiac catheterisation procedure, but the lack of equipment and delays in referrals have indefinitely postponed the operation.
Across Gaza , more than 350,000 patients with chronic illnesses—including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease—are facing similar risks as essential medications run out. Impossible choices Inside Gaza's hospitals, doctors are making decisions that would have been unthinkable months ago.
In dialysis units, the crisis has taken a particularly devastating toll. Health officials estimate that around half of kidney patients have died in recent months due to shortages of life-saving medications, especially those used to treat anaemia.
Medical teams have been forced to rely on repeated blood transfusions as a temporary solution—a stopgap measure that places additional strain on already weakened patients and increases the risk of complications.
Elsewhere, the lack of surgical equipment and supplies has led to the postponement of tens of thousands of operations.
In some cases, doctors say, they have been forced to amputate limbs that could have been saved under normal conditions.
A fuel crisis adds to the situation. Hospitals depend almost entirely on generators to maintain critical services, including intensive care units and operating theatres. With fuel supplies dwindling, the threat of a total blackout looms large.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis , one of the largest functioning medical facilities in southern Gaza , the strain is visible in every department.
Hospital director Atef al-Hout told TNA that "only a single CT scanner remains operational, a machine designed to handle up to 20 cases a day but now forced to process as many as 100."
The result is constant breakdowns and improvised repairs, often using parts salvaged from other damaged machines.
"We are working beyond capacity", al-Hout said, warning that the device could fail at any moment, cutting off a critical diagnostic lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people.
The absence of MRI machines across the entire Strip has further limited doctors' ability to diagnose complex conditions, reducing survival chances for many patients. Public health disaster The collapse of Gaza's healthcare system is unfolding alongside a broader public health crisis, driven by mass displacement and deteriorating living conditions.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), skin diseases are spreading in at least half of the displacement sites, based on surveys conducted across more than 1,600 locations.
Rodents and pests have been reported in roughly 80 per cent of these areas, with efforts to control infestations hampered by shortages of basic supplies and chemicals due to import restrictions.
More than one million displaced Palestinians are now living in overcrowded shelters and makeshift tents, where access to clean water and sanitation is severely limited.
Municipal services have all but collapsed under the strain of fuel shortages and damaged infrastructure, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks in what aid agencies describe as an increasingly unlivable environment.
Palestinian officials argue that the crisis is being exacerbated by Israeli blockade and restrictions that continue to limit the entry of essential goods and obstruct humanitarian operations.
Ismail Thawabteh, director of Gaza's Government Media Office, told TNA that "these restrictions are affecting every aspect of life, from water distribution to waste management and emergency response."
"The lack of supplies is paralysing our ability to respond", he said, pointing to severe shortages of hygiene materials and pest control equipment.
At the same time, ongoing Israeli military operations and strikes on residential areas are generating new casualties, placing additional strain on an already overwhelmed system.
Calls for international intervention are growing louder, with Palestinian officials urging the immediate and unconditional opening of crossings to allow the entry of medical supplies, equipment, and fuel.
They are also calling for the facilitation of patient travel for treatment abroad and for guarantees that humanitarian organisations can operate without obstruction.
Above all, they stress the need to protect civilians and healthcare facilities in accordance with international humanitarian law.
But for doctors like Abu Salmiya, however, time is rapidly running out.
"If the situation continues, we are heading towards a complete collapse," he warned.
In Gaza , that collapse is no longer a distant threat, but an unfolding reality—one in which illness is no longer just a matter of health, but of access, borders, and survival itself.