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STORY: GAZA / PATIENTS AND INJURED TREATMENT
TRT: 12:20
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 09 OCTOBER 2025, DEIR AL-BALAH, CENTRAL GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE
1. Various shots, Al-Aqsa Hospital
2. Various shots, patients and the wounded receiving treatment inside a World Health Organization (WHO) tent set up in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital
3. Various shots, Hussein Krizem, a young man suffering from thalassemia, as blood samples are taken for testing before receiving his designated blood units
4. Various shots, Hussein Krizem while blood units are being transfused to him
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hussein Krizem, Patient, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“For about four days I’ve been trying to get a blood unit at Al-Aqsa Hospital. On the first day, I faced a lot of hardship and many obstacles because they asked me to provide a replacement blood unit for the one I would receive. After struggling all day, I managed to find a donor, but there wasn’t enough time left, so I came back the next day to get the blood unit. The procedures here are exhausting. I spend hours searching for a doctor to write the lab and blood test requests, which can take three to four hours, and about the same amount of time to find a nurse to draw the samples to be sent to the lab. The hospital lacks even the most basic supplies — sometimes they ask me to buy the empty test tube myself from the market. I spend half the day looking for a doctor or nurse, then go to the blood bank, which takes another two to three hours to prepare the blood unit. As you can see, we’re sitting here in a tent on iron beds to receive blood transfusions. A while ago, I had an allergic reaction, and if I didn’t know my condition well from long experience with the disease, I wouldn’t have managed it. I stopped the transfusion and called the nurse because doctors often don’t notice our reactions, so I have to monitor myself. When I felt the allergy and shortness of breath, I stopped the transfusion and asked for treatment. We are suffering greatly. I come from a very distant area, transportation is exhausting, and the fares are expensive. This is my fourth day in the hospital, and I finally managed to receive a blood unit. Yesterday, I came but couldn’t get one and had to leave at night — and the day before that, I was searching for donors.”
6. Various shots, Razan Tafesh, a young woman suffering from thalassemia, waiting inside a tent in front of Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, preparing for her blood transfusion procedure
7. Various shots, Razan Tafesh as blood samples are drawn from her arm for testing before receiving her designated blood unit.
8. Various shots, Razan Tafesh receiving a blood transfusion inside Al-Aqsa Hospital
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Razan Tafesh, Patient, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“I’ve had thalassemia since I was six months old. It has caused several other health problems for me, such as heart issues, osteoporosis, asthma, and disabilities in my legs. We, the thalassemia patients, suffer from the shortage of available blood units, especially during this difficult time of war. When we come to the hospital, we are often told to leave because there’s no blood. There aren’t enough nurses, and even in the lab, we’re asked to bring our own donors. When we leave the hospital after receiving blood, we consider it an achievement because many patients are not as lucky. In Gaza, we have around 46 thalassemia patients; 12 of them were killed during the bombings, and the rest died because they couldn’t get blood units, which caused heart failure. Recently, I came to the hospital when my haemoglobin level was 4, and they told me: ‘Come back next week, you’re still alive.’”
10. Various shots, several thalassemia patients receiving their designated blood units
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Abdullah, Patient, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“The situation of thalassemia patients in the Gaza Strip is extremely critical right now. There are around 240 patients across the Strip. During the war, we lost 46 patients — 12 were killed by Israeli bombardment, and 34 others died due to the lack of medicine, food, and blood units. Blood filters are also very scarce and, when available, come in very limited quantities.”
12. Various shots, patients and the wounded receiving treatment at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Abdullah, Patient, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“We call on everyone to intervene immediately to save these patients and improve their health conditions. As you can see, the healthcare system here has completely collapsed. A patient who used to get blood within an hour or two now waits more than a full day for just one unit, even though they need two or three units every month at minimum. The lack of blood causes heart muscle weakness and damage to the kidneys and liver due to the ongoing interruption of treatment. We urge the World Health Organization and all health institutions to take urgent action to deliver medication and provide blood units to save the remaining patients.”
14. Various shots, patients and the wounded receiving treatment at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip
Thalassemia patients in the Gaza Strip are facing worsening suffering amid ongoing war and displacement, as severe shortages of blood, medicine, treatment, and food threaten their lives. This comes amid an almost total collapse of the healthcare system and a critical lack of medical supplies in hospitals.
Patients at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza say they spend days waiting for a single unit of blood, while the ability of medical teams to meet their needs continues to decline.
Hussein Krizem, a young man suffering from thalassemia who was receiving treatment inside a World Health Organization (WHO) medical tent in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital, said, “for four days I’ve been trying to get a blood unit. The hospital asked me to find a donor to replace the unit I would receive. After a long struggle, I managed to find one, but then had to wait hours for lab tests and to find a nurse to draw my samples. Sometimes I’m even asked to buy the test tube myself from the market."
Krizem added that patients have to monitor their own conditions during transfusions out of fear of complications, noting that the medical staff are exhausted and personnel are limited, making it extremely difficult to follow up on patients’ cases.
According to local data, there are around 240 thalassemia patients in Gaza living under dire humanitarian conditions. Since the outbreak of the war, 46 patients have died — including 12 killed by Israeli bombardments and 34 others who died due to shortages of treatment and blood units.
Razan Tafesh, a young woman with thalassemia receiving a blood transfusion at the hospital, said, "I’ve had the disease since I was an infant. It has caused complications in my heart, bones, and legs. Many times, we are asked to leave the hospital because there’s no blood available. Getting even one unit of blood has become an achievement."
Another patient, Ibrahim Abdullah, said, “the healthcare system has completely collapsed. We used to get blood within hours; now we wait more than a full day. The interruption of treatment causes heart weakness and damage to the liver and kidneys. We call on the World Health Organization to urgently intervene to save the patients."
Health officials warn that Gaza’s blood supply is nearly depleted as the blockade and restrictions continue to hinder the entry of medical aid — putting the lives of hundreds of patients who depend on regular transfusions to survive at serious risk.
