Palestinian patients in Gaza are emerging as among the hardest-hit victims of Israel’s suffocating blockade, with critical medicine and medical supply shortages now pushing countless lives to the brink, Anadolu has reported.
The prolonged closure of border crossings since 2 March has depleted hospitals of essential resources, creating life-or-death crises for those requiring treatment, from chronic illnesses to war wounds.
The Health Ministry in Gaza has warned repeatedly of the increasing medicine shortage crisis in Gaza which affects its already poor capabilities in treating people. Officials say that more than 37 per cent of the essential medicines and at least 59 per cent of the required medical disposables are unavailable in the ministry’s stores, and that more than 24 per cent of the medicines needed for dialysis patients are also unavailable.
Gaza regularly provides reports on the medicine shortages to the relevant international groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation.
During the current medicine shortage, say health officials, the ministry is seeking medical alternatives to deal with the shortage and reduce complications for patients. However, such alternatives do not work in all cases, where changing the prescribed medicines may pose a further risk to the patients’ health.
On Monday, the UN marked 50 days since Israel imposed a complete blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, warning of a rapidly deteriorating situation that is endangering the lives of civilians.
Last week, the Gaza-based Government Media Office warned of the shortage of medicine in Gaza and the spread of diseases among people in the war-torn enclave.
The Israeli army resumed its genocidal offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza on 18 March, shattering a 19 January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. Overall, it has killed more than 51,200 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. Israel halted the delivery of aid to the enclave on 2 March, hours after the end of the truce deal’s 42-day first phase. The occupation state refused to move to the second phase, in violation of the terms of the January agreement.
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