UN warns Gaza hospitals face collapse as fighting intensifies
New Delhi, Sep 27: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Gaza’s health system is on the verge of collapse, with only 14 hospitals across the enclave still functioning amid escalating hostilities.
“This brings the total functioning hospitals in Gaza to only 14…the situation at the remaining eight hospitals and one field hospital in the city is critical,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic, speaking to journalists in Geneva. The warning comes as Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City. The advance has been accompanied by repeated evacuation orders that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and severely disrupted health services. “Even if hospitals are not asked to evacuate, there is a lack of access, there is violence just nearby and that can put them out of service,” Jasarevic said.
HEALTH SYSTEM UNDER STRAIN
Gaza City has long formed the backbone of the enclave’s health system, hosting nearly half of all hospitals and field facilities. But WHO reports that none of the 14 hospitals still running are operating at full capacity. Hospitals in the south, including those in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, are “overwhelmed and can’t absorb more” patients, the agency warned. Medical teams at Gaza City’s eight remaining hospitals and one field hospital are “overwhelmed by the influx of casualties resulting from strikes,” WHO said. They are also struggling to care for non-trauma patients while facing acute shortages of beds, supplies and equipment. Many patients are being treated on the floor.
HOSPITALS FORCED TO SHUT DOWN
Four hospitals in north Gaza have been put out of service since September 1: Al Rantisi Children’s Hospital, the Ophthalmic Hospital, St. John Eye Hospital and Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics. WHO described Hamad as one of Gaza’s three main rehabilitation centers, treating 250 outpatients regularly and handling around 200 trauma cases daily at its stabilization point. Its closure, the agency said, has left a devastating gap in specialized care. Al Rantisi, Gaza’s only specialized pediatric hospital, was hit directly on 16 September while 80 patients were inside. Though no fatalities were reported, damage to water tanks, communications and medical equipment forced half of the patients to flee. Some 40 remain, including four children in intensive care and eight newborns.
CRITICAL SHORTAGES
WHO warned that blood banks are running dangerously low, with services at risk of shutting down within days without urgent replenishment of blood units, transfusion sets and other supplies. Between 7 and 17 September, 12 reported attacks on healthcare facilities were recorded—11 in Gaza City and one in Khan Younis.
“More violence only means more injured people. It means more casualties, more deaths and it means less access,” Jasarevic stressed. “People in Gaza are suffering from multiple displacements; there are shortages of medical supplies, there are issues of access both for humanitarians, for health workers, also for patients.”
