Gaza Herald – At least six Palestinian patients are dying every day in the Gaza Strip after being denied access to medical treatment abroad, as restrictions on travel continue to cripple an already overwhelmed healthcare system, a Palestinian health official has warned.
Zaher al-Wahidi said the situation inside the enclave is rapidly deteriorating, describing it as a “choking and accelerating humanitarian collapse” amid ongoing limitations on patient movement and severe shortages in medical resources.
Speaking at a public event on Gaza’s worsening medical crisis, al-Wahidi revealed that more than 21,000 patients have completed referral procedures and are waiting for permission to leave the territory for treatment. Among them are approximately 4,000 children, 4,000 cancer patients, and 195 individuals in urgent need of life-saving care.
According to al-Wahidi, at least 1,517 patients have died while awaiting treatment access, including 69 deaths recorded in March alone. Surpassing the number of patients who were actually able to leave for care during the same period, which stood at just 59.
Since the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing in February, only around 520 patients have been able to exit Gaza for medical treatment, highlighting the severe limitations on medical evacuations.
The collapse of the healthcare system is further reflected in the sharp decline in hospital capacity. Gaza has lost more than 55% of its hospital beds since the start of the war, with numbers dropping from 3,580 to approximately 2,300, while operating rooms have decreased from 105 to fewer than 80.
Medical infrastructure is under extreme strain. There are currently no MRI machines available in Gaza, while CT scanners have dropped from 17 to just six, with only one cardiac catheterization unit remaining operational.
Shortages of essential supplies continue to deepen the crisis, with more than half of essential medicines unavailable, alongside major deficits in medical consumables and laboratory supplies. Critical medications for chronic illnesses and cancer are in particularly short supply.
Cancer patients are among the most affected, especially following damage to specialized treatment facilities during the Israeli genocide, with an estimated 1,000 linked to a lack of adequate care.
Patients requiring dialysis have also been severely impacted. The number of dialysis machines has fallen from 193 to 92, contributing to the deaths of more than half of those dependent on the treatment.
The toll on healthcare workers has been devastating. More than 1,700 medical personnel have been killed since the war began, while hundreds have been detained or forced to leave Gaza, further weakening the system.
Hospitals are now operating almost entirely on generators amid chronic electricity shortages, with limited and irregular fuel supplies threatening their continued operation.
Al-Wahidi called for urgent international intervention, including the deployment of specialized medical teams and the immediate entry of essential medicines and equipment, warning that Gaza’s health system is on the brink of total collapse.
