The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed that the elderly and people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip face serious health and humanitarian risks as a result of forced displacement and the near-total collapse of the health system.
In a press statement issued Tuesday, the agency explained that basic supplies, particularly adult diapers, are in critically short supply, directly threatening hygiene and human dignity.
UNRWA stated that the chronic shortage of medications for chronic diseases is leading to preventable deaths that could have been avoided with adequate healthcare. The agency stressed that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with immense needs, widespread destruction, and a severe food shortage.
The agency added that families in the Strip continue to suffer daily due to food scarcity and the extensive destruction. It confirmed that approximately 1.6 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society warned Tuesday of serious health complications for people with chronic diseases in the Gaza Strip due to the shortage of medications and Israel’s prevention of their travel for treatment outside the Strip. The director of the association, Muhammad Abu Afash, said in a press statement on Tuesday that approximately 1,200 Palestinian patients have died due to the unavailability of treatment and their inability to travel for further care, without specifying the timeframe.
Earlier, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reported that 1,092 patients in Gaza died while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and November 2025.
Despite the end of the war, medical evacuations continue at a slow pace due to the severe restrictions imposed by Israel on patients leaving the Gaza Strip.
Abu Afash explained that 99 percent of specialized orthopedic surgeries have completely stopped due to the shortage of medical supplies, warning of serious health repercussions for the lives of patients and the wounded.
The Director General of Pharmacy at the Gaza Ministry of Health, Alaa Helles, confirmed that the drug crisis includes many types of medications that have reached zero stock, which will affect more than 10,000 medical procedures, including those in emergency, orthopedic, oncology, and surgical departments.
He added that kidney dialysis patients will face severe difficulties due to the unavailability of their necessary treatment, and that more than 62% of the medications serving approximately a quarter of a million people who visit primary care clinics are unavailable.
He stressed that the Ministry is demanding binding measures be taken against Israel to allow the entry of essential medical supplies, noting that since the ceasefire began, there has been no tangible improvement in the entry of medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.
