During the Israel–Hamas war, the healthcare system of Gaza was destroyed by Israeli attacks on hospitals and health facilities, killing of healthcare workers, and blockade of medical supplies from entering Gaza. [1] The resulting collapse of the healthcare system was part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by the war. [2]
The hospitals faced a lack of fuel due to the Israeli siege and relied on backup generators for the first two weeks of the war. [3] By 23 October, Gaza hospitals began shutting down as they ran out of fuel, starting with the Indonesia Hospital. [4] When hospitals lost power completely, multiple premature babies in NICUs died. [5] [6]
Numerous medical staffers were killed, and ambulances, health institutions, medical headquarters, and multiple hospitals were destroyed. [7] The Medecins Sans Frontieres said scores of ambulances and medical facilities were damaged or destroyed. [8] [9] By late-October, the Gaza Health Ministry stated the healthcare system had "totally collapsed", [10] while on January 13 out of Gaza's 36 hospitals reportedly remained partially functional. [11]
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 [82]
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 [171]
On 4 December, Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger visited the Gaza Strip, stating, "The things I saw there are beyond anything that anyone should be in a position to describe." [177]
Bushra Khalidi, an expert with Oxfam, stated the situation was no longer "just a catastrophe, it's apocalyptic." [193]
Al-Shifa Hospital was the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza Strip, located in the neighborhood of northern Rimal in Gaza City.
The Nasser Hospital was one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
On 27 October 2023, Israel launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip with the stated goals to destroy Hamas, a military and political movement that led an attack on Israel earlier in the month, and to free hostages it took. The effort is ongoing. Before the invasion, dubbed Operation Swords of Iron, Israel declared war, tightened its blockade, and ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip.
During the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli military ordered most residents of Gaza to evacuate their homes, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and contributing to a broader humanitarian crisis in the territory. It is the largest displacement of Palestinians in 75 years. Palestinians have described the evacuation as the "second Nakba."
On 3 November 2023, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and siege of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying critically injured patients. The strike killed 15 people and wounded dozens. The Palestine Red Crescent Society, which was part of the convoy, said that all 15 casualties were civilians.
The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. The crisis includes both a famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. Widespread disease outbreaks have spread across Gaza.
Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, was placed under siege by Israel in mid-November 2023 during the Israel–Hamas war, after saying it had contained a Hamas command and control center beneath it. The incident was followed by a second major raid by Israeli forces in March 2024.
A significant number of attacks on healthcare facilities occurred during the Israel-Hamas war. During the first week of the war, there were 94 attacks on health care facilities in Israel and Gaza, killing 29 health care workers and injuring 24. The attacks on healthcare facilities contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. By 30 November, the World Health Organization documented 427 attacks on healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting in 566 fatalities and 758 injuries. By February 2024, it was reported that "every hospital in Gaza is either damaged, destroyed, or out of service due to lack of fuel." By April, WHO had verified 906 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon.
The European Hospital is a public hospital in Al-Fukhari near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine. It was initially founded by the UNRWA with a grant from the European Union in 1989.
Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital is a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
The Gaza Strip faced a premature baby crisis during the Israel–Hamas war. The situation escalated when the Israeli Defense Forces raided Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Nasr Children's Hospital, and Kamal Adwan Hospital. Reports of premature babies in intensive care, added to concerns about the rising number of preterm births in Gaza. The newborns gained global attention.
More than 685 health workers have been killed and 900 wounded during attacks on medical facilities and medical transport in the Israel-Hamas War. Although the injuries happened both on the Israeli side and on the Palestinian side, most of these attacks were carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinians.
The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024.
As a result of the Israel–Hamas war, children have been disproportionately impacted in the Gaza Strip, where 40% of the population is 14 or under. On 13 November, UNICEF reported that more than 700,000 children in Gaza were displaced. A dire humanitarian crisis, with reports of children suffering from a serious epidemic of gastroenteritis due to the lack of clean water, led to concerns amongst health officials and aid organizations. Speaking to reporters early in the conflict, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that "Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day."
During the Israel–Hamas war, the Nasser Hospital faced multiple attacks, including a siege and raid in January and February 2024. The hospital siege by Israeli forces created severe shortages of food, anesthesia, and painkillers. Reports emerged of Israeli snipers targeting individuals outside the hospital. Despite international calls for restraint, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered the evacuation of displaced people inside the hospital on 13 February 2024. On 15 February, Israeli soldiers raided the hospital. The hospital had completely ceased functioning by March 2024.
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