During the Israel–Hamas war, the healthcare system of Gaza collapsed.[1][2][3] The healthcare collapse was part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by the war.[4]
The hospitals faced a lack of fuel and relied on backup generators for the first two weeks of the war.[5] By 23 October, Gaza hospitals began shutting down as they ran out of fuel, starting with the Indonesia Hospital.[6] When hospitals lost power completely, multiple premature babies in NICUs died.[7][8]
Numerous medical staffers were killed, and ambulances, health institutions, medical headquarters, and multiple hospitals were destroyed.[9] The Medecins Sans Frontieres said scores of ambulances and medical facilities were damaged or destroyed.[10][11] By late-October, the Gaza Health Ministry stated the healthcare system had "totally collapsed",[12] while on January 13 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals reportedly remained partially functional.[13]
Doctors Without Borders @MSF_canada "We're on the fourth floor, there's a sniper who attacked four patients inside the hospital. One of them has a gunshot wound directly in his neck, and he is a quadriplegic [patient], and the other one [was shot] in the abdomen."
November 11, 2023[78]
Further information: Al-Shifa Hospital siege |
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @DrTedros Patients were receiving care on the floor, screaming in pain. These conditions are beyond inadequate - unimaginable for the provision of health care. I cannot find words strong enough to express our concern over what we’re witnessing.
December 2, 2023[167]