Munir al-Barsh, director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, told Al Jazeera that hospitals across the besieged enclave were operating in a “tragic and horrific” situation due to severe shortages caused by ongoing Israeli restrictions on aid and equipment.
He said the blockade was directly undermining doctors’ ability to treat critical cases and respond to life-threatening emergencies.
Meanwhile, doctors in war-ravaged Gaza have repeatedly warned that their efforts to save lives are being crippled by Israel’s refusal to allow the entry of the most basic medical supplies.
Despite a United States-backed ceasefire that took effect in October, Israel has continued to violate its agreement with Hamas by failing to permit the agreed number of medical aid trucks into Gaza, according to the Health Ministry.
Al-Barsh said the health system was suffering from acute shortages of medicines and medical supplies, particularly surgical consumables needed for life-saving operations.
He said nearly three-quarters of required supplies were unavailable, including critical shortages of solutions, anesthetics, gauze and dialysis materials.
Power outages and a severe lack of generators were further hampering hospital operations, he added.
Al-Barsh described the situation as the most dangerous faced by Gaza’s health sector since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority more than three decades ago.
During Israel’s genocidal war, which has lasted more than two years, nearly all of Gaza’s hospitals and healthcare facilities have been attacked, he said.
At least 125 health facilities have been damaged, including 34 hospitals, while more than 1,700 health workers have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
Israel continues to hold 95 Palestinian doctors and medical workers, including 80 from Gaza, al-Barsh said.
Separately, al-Barsh said the crisis was affecting not only those wounded by Israeli attacks but also patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
He said around 4,000 glaucoma patients faced the risk of permanent blindness due to the lack of treatment options inside Gaza.
Nearly 40,000 displaced pregnant women were living in inadequate shelters, putting both their lives and the health of their unborn children at risk, he added.
Meanwhile, an estimated 320,000 children under the age of five were at risk of malnutrition amid a worsening humanitarian crisis driven by Israeli curbs on aid entering the enclave.
While a mechanism exists to transfer patients out of Gaza for treatment, waiting lists are long and patients are dying before receiving care, al-Barsh said.
At least 1,156 patients have died while waiting for permission to travel for medical treatment, he said.
The process, which he described as “lengthy and complex,” requires referrals from Gaza-based doctors to be assessed by the World Health Organization before being forwarded to Israeli authorities for security approval.
Al-Barsh said nearly 20,000 patients were currently on waiting lists to leave Gaza for treatment, with about 18,500 already approved by the WHO.
Around 3,700 of those patients were in critical condition, including about 4,300 children, he added.
He demanded that Israel immediately open border crossings to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza and permit the evacuation of thousands of critically ill patients, warning that further delays would cost more lives.
About 71,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 171,000 wounded in attacks during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities.