Doctors who volunteered in Gaza say hospitals have been forced to treat critically wounded patients with severe shortages of equipment and supplies, as damage to medical facilities continues to undermine care.
The accounts describe emergency rooms receiving large numbers of injured people while lacking essential tools and adequate space. In paediatric intensive care, doctors reported premature babies sharing incubators and one unit having only a single stethoscope at one point. Supplies such as specialised infant formula were also limited.
A United Nations assessment cited in the reporting said 94 percent of Gaza’s healthcare facilities were fully or partially out of service. All of the territory’s hospitals had sustained damage, and only a portion remained operational, none at full capacity.
Doctors said the shortages affected routine and emergency treatment alike. When diagnostic equipment, medicines, monitors or basic materials are unavailable, conditions that might otherwise be treatable can become life-threatening.
Hospitals have also faced the consequences of attacks on medical infrastructure and restrictions on the entry of supplies, according to the reporting. The Israeli military and the body responsible for coordinating goods entering Gaza were contacted for comment; no response had been received at publication.
The doctors’ accounts point to a health system operating under immense strain. They say restoring hospital care will require sustained access to essential equipment, medicines, fuel and safe conditions for medical staff and patients.
