Gaza Health Sector Nears “Total Collapse” Amid Severe Medicine Shortages, Officials Warn
Palestinian health officials warned Sunday that the healthcare sector in Gaza is enduring a “catastrophic and unprecedented” phase as the Zionist aggression continues to cripple health and living conditions, warning that a total collapse of the medical system and epidemic outbreaks among the displaced population are imminent.
In a media statement, the Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, revealed that seven months have passed since the ceasefire without any real breakthrough in the delivery of essential medicines and medical supplies, pointing to an acute and unprecedented shortage of basic medical necessities across the enclave.
According to Abu Salmiya, approximately 50 percent of essential medicines are unavailable in Gaza, while 70 percent of medical consumables required for surgical operations are in short supply. The shortage of cancer medications has reached 80 percent, and 86 percent of laboratory materials necessary for diagnosing patients are absent from hospital stocks.
Medical teams are facing immense difficulties managing the daily influx of casualties and wounded under such depleted conditions, he added, with ongoing bombardment compounding the crisis.
Abu Salmiya described the humanitarian situation for displaced persons as “extremely dire,” noting that families are living in tents lacking clean drinking water and proper sanitation.
The mixing of sewage with usable water, the accumulation of hundreds of tonnes of waste, and the spread of rodents and mosquitoes are creating conditions that could trigger health disasters and epidemic outbreaks during the summer months, he alerted.
