War and shortages push Gaza’s hospitals to the breaking point | News of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – On the dialysis floor of Gaza City Al Shifa Hospitalthe same scene repeats itself every day. Machines work non-stop. Patients sit in tight rows. Medical tubes connect bodies to life for limited hours.

In one of the chairs sits 14-year-old Ruwa Muntasir Abdul Karim from Jabalia in northern Gaza. Its small size makes it stand out in a crowded room full of patients.

Her left arm is connected to a dialysis machine. Her eyes follow the movements of the medical staff in the room, but she remains silent throughout the session – the whole process has exhausted her.

Her father, Muntasir, sits beside her, his face full of concern.

“My daughter was walking and playing before she got sick. Her life changed after the surgeries and dialysis,” Muntasir said. “Each dialysis session keeps her alive. Any interruption causes extreme fatigue and shortness of breath.”

But the hospital unit on Ruwaa’s life support is struggling, under constant pressure to support the thousands of people in Gaza who need treatment, without the resources to do so.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has decimated the Palestinian enclave’s medical sector through repeated attacks on hospitals, including al-Shifa, and severe restrictions on what can be brought into Gaza.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 50 percent of the dialysis machines in Gaza have completely stopped working due to a persistent shortage of sodium bicarbonate, which is needed to keep the machines running.

In addition, the number of hospitals equipped to treat patients with kidney failure has dropped to four from seven, and some, such as the Noor Al Kaabi Dialysis Center, destroyed by Israeli forces during the war.

The consequences mean that patients with kidney failure are dying at an alarming rate in Gaza. Statistics of the Ministry of Health show that before the war there were 1,200 patients with kidney failure. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, that number has dropped to about 700 patients after more than 470 died due to missing dialysis sessions and missing essential drugs.

Waiting for rescue

Osama Abu Rahma is the head of the kidney unit at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, one of four hospitals that can still treat patients with kidney failure in Gaza.

“We have 51 dialysis machines, but 25 of them are completely out of order,” he said, adding that this has put a lot of pressure on the facility and adversely affected the 240 patients undergoing treatment there.

The facility was forced to reduce both the number of sessions held each week and the length of each session.

Medical complications in patients are increasing: general weakness, shortness of breath, heart and lung problems, dangerously high levels of potassium in the blood.

Abu Rahma is clear – the situation puts the lives of hundreds of patients in immediate danger.

Back at Al Shifa Hospital, Ruwaa stares at the ceiling. Some of the elderly patients are asleep; the scene inside the ward depicts a state of continuous exhaustion.

Ruwaa’s father, Muntasir, keeps a close eye on the medical monitor beside her, keeping an eye on vital signs.

He remembers when her health was better, but then her condition took a turn for the worse. Her weight has dropped from 65 kg to 35 kg (143 lb to 77 lb) and the number of dialysis sessions she receives each week has been reduced from three to two.

The only permanent solution – a kidney transplant – should be within reach. “Everything is ready for the kidney transplant,” Muntasir said. “Her mother is a donor, the tests match.”

But Israel again interferes with Ruva’s treatment. Her trip abroad – Israel must approve all travel from Gaza – is expected within six months. The real health situation in Gaza means that transplants cannot take place in the enclave. And so Ruwaa must wait.

The need for prosthetics

Lack of access to treatment in Gaza’s dialysis facilities is a common problem for the entire health care system in Gaza.

Israel’s war has left more than 43,000 people in Gaza with injuries described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “life-changing” – including thousands of severe limb injuries that have led to amputations and permanent disabilities.

Even after treatment for the initial trauma, Palestinian amputees in Gaza face a new challenge: rehabilitation and access to basic means of transportation.

In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, physiotherapist Aya al-Shaltuni explained that the lack of prostheses, wheelchairs and crutches has become a daily reality for patients, with demand far outstripping supply.

“There is a clear and serious shortage of means of transportation,” al-Shaltuni said. “Many patients wait a long time and some get nothing.”

She noted that this deficiency not only affects physical suffering, but completely changes the patient’s life path. Ultimately, access to appropriate rehabilitation tools can determine whether a patient is able to recover to some form of independent living.

“We create treatment plans, but without the appropriate supporting tools, we cannot achieve the desired results and progress remains limited,” said al-Shaltuni.

The physiotherapist added that rehabilitation centers in Gaza operate with limited resources and cannot compensate for the large shortage of necessary equipment, leaving a clear gap in the treatment system.

Zaki Juma Salem Abu Harb has seen both sides of the coin. A 60-year-old farmer from northern Gaza lost his leg after being injured in an Israeli attack in March 2025.

“My whole day changed in an instant,” he said. “After the attack, I woke up injured and unable to move like before.”

He had spent his entire life active in his field of activity and his movements were suddenly severely restricted and he was dependent on others to move between home and hospital, with constant doctor visits and follow-up.

But after months of waiting, he recently managed to get a prosthetic. This was a major positive development, but so was Zaki aware of others – According to WHO estimates, as of October 2025, there are between 5,000 and 6,000 people with amputees as a result of the war, most of whom are still waiting for prosthetics.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have wheelchairs or crutches,” Zaki said. “They have to find any way to get around, sometimes using a tree trunk or any piece of wood.”

“There are children who have lost limbs,” he added. “Some of them don’t have devices to help them walk properly. When I see them, I feel deeply affected. You feel that they have been deprived of the simplest rights in life.”

Mental health support

Because of Gaza’s limited resources, the focus has often been on treating physical injuries as a priority. But the public health crisis in the Palestinian Territory does not stop there and extends to the psychological and social traumas that are a natural result of nearly three years of devastating war.

On the outskirts of Al-Aqsa Hospital, in a small tent surrounded by other tents, 22-year-old Hadil sits in front of a simple fire used for cooking. Instead of sitting in a university classroom and preparing for exams, Hadil divides her time between taking care of her seven siblings, providing for their needs in the tent, and trying to continue the life that stopped at the start of the war.

At the start of the war, her family took refuge in a relative’s house before a brutal strike hit the house next door, sending them fleeing in chaos and panic.

“On the night of the bombing, we woke up to the screams of children and women…we were running and trying to find each other,” Hadil paused, then continued. “My mother was under the rubble…only her fingers were visible. Neighbors helped us pull her out. The sound of my mother calling us and her image never left me.”

While her mother was receiving treatment, Hadeel found herself fully responsible for her siblings as the eldest daughter. Life has become a constant alternation between grief and endurance and responsibilities that never cease.

“Some days I feel depressed, and other days I have to go on and take care of them,” Hadil said.

Over time, signs of psychological stress became more prominent, including frequent episodes of crying, difficulty sleeping due to constant thoughts, and the burden of memories and responsibilities.

Hadil added that she suffers from emotional exhaustion, where daily responsibilities are mixed with recurring memories of the bombing and loss of security, making moments of peace rare and interrupted.

Hadeel’s is just one story of many in Gaza. According to Asil Abu Shawish, a 27-year-old psychologist from central Gaza, the enclave’s mental health crisis is widespread due to war, repeated displacement, loss of loved ones and the destruction of homes.

“Everyone in these circumstances needs psychological support, and this need will continue, making mental health a priority to respond to,” said Abu Shawish, who works with an international organization that provides psychological support.

Abu Shawish observed widespread disorders, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, and panic attacks, as well as problems among children such as bedwetting, aggressive behavior, difficulty concentrating, recurring nightmares, and excessive attachment to caregivers.

And while providing support to people suffering from these disorders is critical, Abu Shawish noted that mental health workers face serious challenges, including “constant psychological pressure, lack of security, high demand, lack of resources and difficulty reaching patients.”

But Abu Shawish knows how important the services she provides can be and is willing to push herself to give people the help they need.