GAZA, (PIC)
The Palestinian Ministry of Health warned, on Thursday, of an unprecedented worsening in the crisis of medicines and medical supplies, confirming that more than one third of the items listed on the essential medicines list have completely run out, while hundreds of other items have declined to levels below the emergency demand limit.
The ministry confirmed, in a press statement, that the lives of more than 4,000 cancer patients and thousands of kidney dialysis patients have become threatened as a result of the acute shortage of essential medicines and treatments.
It explained that the minisry continues its efforts around the clock to maintain the continuity of health services despite the suffocating financial crisis, through managing available resources with high efficiency, and directing them towards the most urgent health needs.
It also appealed to the international community, UN institutions, and donor countries to intervene urgently to press for the release of the withheld Palestinian clearance funds, and to provide the necessary support to the health sector to avoid the collapse of essential services.
The ministry emphasized that the current crisis portends serious humanitarian repercussions affecting the lives of thousands of patients, especially those with chronic diseases, cancer, kidney failure, and critical cases.
It called for obliging Israel to bear its responsibilities under international law and the obligations incumbent upon the occupying power towards the population under occupation.
Running out of dozens of items of cancer and chronic disease medicines
The ministry attributed the worsening of the crisis to the Palestinian government’s weak ability to pay the dues of pharmaceutical companies as a result of Israel’s continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues for 15 months, which constitute about 68% of the Ministry of Finance’s revenues.
It pointed out that this situation led to a slowdown or cessation of the supply of medicines, and created an acute shortage of medicines for chronic diseases, cancer, and intensive care, along with disrupting the strategic pharmaceutical stock.
According to the ministry’s data, the number of essential pharmaceutical items whose balance reached zero amounted to about 180 items out of 520 items provided by the ministry, while 50 items out of 97 items of oncology medicines recorded a zero balance.
Acute shortage in kidney dialysis and surgical operations supplies
The ministry revealed a dangerous decline in the stock of a number of vital specialized medical consumables, foremost of which are kidney dialysis filters, which are an essential and indispensable element in treatment sessions.
The warehouses also recorded an acute shortage of surgical sutures, especially the delicate ones used in heart surgeries and specialized operations, which reflected on the readiness of operating rooms.
It added that the shortage also affected cardiac catheterization materials, including catheters and stents, which led to the postponement of a number of intervention procedures for patients.
Rise in zero balances for laboratory materials
The data of laboratory materials warehouses showed a noticeable rise in the number of critical items and zero balances, in light of the widening gap between supply and consumption.
According to the ministry, the number of laboratory items that have completely run out reached 79 items of the materials provided by the ministry.
265 specialized medical consumables out of service
In a related context, the ministry reported that 265 items of specialized medical consumables have their balances at zero, which increases pressures on health institutions and affects their operational capacity.
More than 11,000 postponed surgical operations
The ministry indicated that government hospitals performed about 65,000 major and minor surgical operations during the year 2025, while they carried out nearly 19,500 operations since the beginning of the year 2026 until the first of current June.
In contrast, the number of programmed operations that were postponed rose to more than 11,000 operations due to the shortage of medical consumables, surgical sutures, and materials necessary for operations, along with the repercussions of the financial crisis, strikes, and reduction of working hours.
It confirmed that these conditions directly affected the operational capacity of hospitals and the speed of patients obtaining the required surgical services, and also deprived tens of thousands of patients from primary health care services and specialized clinics.
The crisis coincides with an ongoing health disaster in Gaza
The ministry pointed out that this crisis coincides with the continuation of the health and humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, where health facilities face an acute shortage of medicines, medical consumables, fuel, and life-saving supplies.
It added that the health sector in Gaza suffers from the effects of wide destruction of hospitals and health centers, along with the continuous depletion of medical staff, at a time when health needs are increasing in an unprecedented manner.
It stressed that this situation requires urgent international action to ensure the flow of medical and humanitarian supplies in a sustainable and unhindered manner.
3.8 billion shekels debt on the Ministry of Health
The ministry explained that the worsening of the financial crisis and the high volume of debt owed by it placed pharmaceutical companies, suppliers, and health service providers under great financial pressures, which reflected negatively on their ability to continue supplying and providing services.
It showed that the total debt of the ministry reached 3.8 billion shekels, of which 1.3 billion shekels are for the benefit of suppliers of medicines and medical consumables.
It confirmed that pharmaceutical companies and suppliers constitute an essential partner in the sustainability of the Palestinian health system, but the continuation of the financial crisis for long periods weakened the medical supply chains and affected the strategic stock of medicines and supplies.
The ministry renewed its warning that the continued withholding of clearance funds does not only threaten the government’s ability to fulfill its financial obligations, but also threatens the stability and sustainability of the entire Palestinian health sector.
Urgent call to donors to save the health sector
At the conclusion of its statement, the Ministry of Health called on donor parties to provide life-saving medicines worth 50 million dollars sufficient for a period of one year, in addition to medicines of highly critical importance of a similar value, along with the rest of the medicines and consumables necessary for the continuation of health services.
It also demanded the provision of urgent financial support to cover the salaries of the ministry’s employees, which amount to about 60 million shekels monthly, and to provide emergency support to pharmaceutical companies and health service providers from the civil and private sectors, and to contribute to paying the outstanding financial arrears, in a way that ensures preventing the collapse of the health sector and the continuation of providing services to citizens.