As the Israeli occupation army continues its siege of the Gaza Strip, the health sector is suffering from a severe and growing shortage of medicines and medical supplies, resulting in Palestinian deaths.
Contrary to Israeli claims of allowing tons of medicine into Gaza, sources in the Gaza Ministry of Health revealed to Al Jazeera Net the extent of the shortage, the types of medicines that are out of stock, and the impact of the lack of certain medications. They confirmed that the medical system remains unable to meet even the minimum of the escalating needs.
The Israeli army announced the entry of hundreds of trucks loaded with what it described as “modern and advanced” medical equipment for the field hospital run by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The army stated that the shipment included ventilators, treatment rooms, generators, medicines, tents, and dozens of beds, claiming it would “significantly improve” emergency, intensive care, and maternity services.
In response to the Israeli army’s announcement, the Gaza Ministry of Health stated that the Israeli narrative was “misleading.” The Ministry’s Director General, Munir al-Barsh, stated that none of the aforementioned equipment entered any government facility, nor was it delivered to the official health system, which receives the vast majority of the wounded and sick.
He added that everything that was delivered was allocated solely to the field hospital and its storage facilities, with nothing reaching operating rooms, intensive care units, emergency rooms, or neonatal wards.
He described portraying the shipment as support for the health sector as “an attempt to beautify a catastrophic reality,” noting that hospitals operating in Gaza “are functioning at minimal capacity” and lack even the most basic necessities.
The health sector in Gaza, al-Barsh said, does not need flowery statements, but rather genuine, equitable, and comprehensive access to life-saving supplies before more names are added to the lists of victims.
