Gaza faces critical drug shortages as Israeli restrictions tighten
Gaza’s Health Ministry says emergency services are facing the most severe drug shortages
Gaza’s Ministry of Health has issued an urgent appeal for increased deliveries of medicines, medical consumables, and laboratory supplies, warning of acute shortages caused by more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war and a crippling blockade on the besieged enclave.
In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry said the shortages are severely undermining diagnostic and treatment services across Gaza. Medical professionals have long warned that lifesaving care is becoming increasingly impossible as Israel continues to block the entry of essential medical supplies.
Nearly all hospitals and healthcare facilities in Gaza have been targeted during the war, with at least 125 facilities damaged, including 34 hospitals.
According to the ministry, 321 essential medicines are completely out of stock, representing a 52 percent shortage. Medical consumables have fared even worse, with 710 items unavailable a 71 percent shortage while laboratory tests and blood bank supplies face a 59 percent deficit.
The most critical shortages are in emergency departments, particularly intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and painkillers. The lack of supplies in emergency and intensive care units is potentially denying emergency treatment to 200,000 patients, surgical services to 100,000 patients, and intensive care to at least 700 patients.
The ministry also cited severe shortages in supplies for kidney treatment, oncology, open-heart surgery, and orthopedics.
“With these alarming figures, and as the occupation continues to reduce medical aid deliveries to less than 30 percent of Gaza’s monthly needs, the Ministry of Health urgently calls on all relevant parties to fulfill their responsibilities and implement immediate emergency interventions,” the statement said.
Despite a United States-backed ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, Israel has continued to violate its commitments by failing to allow the agreed number of medical aid trucks into Gaza, exacerbating what the ministry describes as an ongoing and critical health emergency.
As a result, at least 1,500 children are awaiting permission to leave Gaza for treatment abroad. Zaher Al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s Information Unit, said 1,200 patients including 155 children have died after being unable to evacuate for medical care.
Meanwhile, six Palestinian detainees released from Israeli custody arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah on Sunday for medical treatment, according to medical sources. The men were transferred by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Rights groups say the detainees were held without due legal process, while the ICRC has warned that it has been denied access to Palestinian prisoners since October 2023, in violation of international humanitarian law. Former detainees have reported malnutrition, abuse, and untreated injuries.
Although about 1,700 detainees were released under the ceasefire agreement in October, more than 10,000 Palestinians — including women and children — remain imprisoned, with rights organizations reporting widespread abuse, starvation, and medical neglect.
Elsewhere, Gaza’s Civil Defence said it rescued five people, including a child and two women, trapped under a collapsed roof in Sheikh Radwan, northwest of Gaza City. Four people were killed in the incident.
Since the ceasefire took effect, at least 18 people have died due to the collapse of 46 damaged buildings across Gaza, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children and wounded over 171,000 others.
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