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UN PhotoGAZA / HEALTH SYSTEM CRISIS
STORY: GAZA / HEALTH SYSTEM CRISIS
TRT: 5:22
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 06 APRIL 2026, GAZA
1. Various shots, Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City, one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip
2.Various shots, the scale of destruction sustained by Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City as a result of the war.
3. Various shots, the destruction of the power generators belonging to Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City
4. Various shots, patients seeking medical care inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City.
5. Various shots, destroyed ambulances inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City
6. Various shots, Dr. Hassan Al-Shaer, Medical Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, while working inside his office
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr. Hassan Al-Shaer, Medical Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in the Gaza Strip:
“The health situation is catastrophic. We are now facing multiple challenges across various medical specialties, not only in dealing with injuries. There are major difficulties with cancer patients, as medicines have become extremely scarce, and what is available does not exceed 15 percent of the total medications these patients need. There are also other environmental problems. We are now beginning to face a rodent problem and the additional health risks that may result from it, due to the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of tons of rubble and thousands of tons of garbage spread across Gaza City.”
8. Various shots, one of the UNRWA schools, which has been turned into a shelter and a medical clinic, in addition to some classroom scenes
9. Various shots, elderly man Mahmoud Al-Najjar, who came to the medical center inside the UNRWA school for treatment due to chronic illnesses
10. Various shots, one of the doctors working inside the medical center while measuring Mahmoud Al-Najjar’s blood pressure
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Al-Najjar from Al-Shati (Beach) Refugee Camp, west of Gaza City:
“I came to this medical point to receive treatment, and I come here every day because there are no hospitals in the Gaza Strip or here in Al-Shati camp. This medical point provides temporary treatment, and when we come here for care, they give us Panadol because there are no medicines available, and that is all they can offer. There is not even anesthesia. If someone is wounded, we ask the doctors to provide treatment, but they are unable to do so.”
12. Various shots, from inside the medical center showing patients waiting for or receiving care.
13. Various shots, medic Khaled Siam treating the wounds of one of the injured patients at the medical center.
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khaled Siam, Medic working at a medical point inside one of the UNRWA displacement centres:
“As for the situation, it is extremely difficult. We receive hundreds of cases every day, between 150 and 200 cases. The medical staff is not fully available. It may only be me and one other nursing colleague, in addition to just one doctor. That is not enough, and it places even more pressure on our capacity. Resources are not available. We are dealing with patients with the very limited means at our disposal, and we are trying to adapt to what is available. The important thing is to provide patients with medical care. There is a large number of patients, and the numbers are increasing. We are not only talking about injuries; there are also widespread illnesses, such as skin and respiratory diseases, and all of that requires treatment and medical follow-up. In truth, the situation is extremely difficult, especially in the absence of hospitals and the necessary medical equipment. The situation is extremely severe.”
15. Various shots, ambulances destroyed as a result of the war
On the eve of World Health Day, the crisis facing Gaza’s health sector continues to deepen amid the ongoing aftermath of the war, which caused widespread destruction to hospitals and medical centres and pushed health services into a cycle of acute dysfunction, despite more than six months having passed since the ceasefire agreement was signed.
Doctors and health workers warn that Gaza’s health system is now closer than ever to collapse, as the number of patients continues to rise, skin and respiratory diseases spread, and the capacity to treat people with chronic illnesses and cancer patients continues to decline. Many of these patients now face the risk of a slow death due to shortages of medicines and medical supplies.
In the Gaza Strip, airstrikes, shelling, and gunfire continued across multiple areas, reportedly resulting in casualties. Overall, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 17 and 25 March, 13 Palestinians were killed, two died of wounds, and 59 people were injured, bringing to overall reported casualty toll since the announcement of the ceasefire in October 2025 to 689 fatalities and 1,860 injuries.
Inside Al-Shifa Medical Complex, one of the largest hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the impact of the war is visible in every corner — from the destruction of buildings and infrastructure to the decline in operational capacity amid shortages of electricity, equipment, and medicines.
Dr. Hassan Al-Shaer, the Medical Director of Al-Shifa, said that the health crisis is no longer limited to receiving the wounded and injured, but has now affected all medical specialties, particularly cancer treatment.
Al-Shaer added that the cancer medicines currently available cover only a small fraction of actual needs, explaining that “medicines are extremely scarce and do not exceed 15 percent of the total medications these patients require.”
He also warned of worsening environmental and health threats linked to the accumulation of rubble and garbage across Gaza City, noting the emergence of additional problems, including the spread of rodents and the new health risks that may accompany that.
With a large number of health facilities either out of service or operating at limited capacity, some schools and shelters have been transformed into alternative medical points providing the bare minimum of healthcare to displaced people and residents.
At one of the UNRWA schools — now used simultaneously as a displacement shelter and a medical clinic — patients line up every day to receive basic treatment, in a scene that reflects the depth of the crisis facing the health sector.
Mahmoud Al-Najjar, an elderly man from Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, said he is forced to visit this medical point almost daily because of chronic illnesses, in the absence of functioning hospitals or access to the treatment he needs.
He said that the services available go little beyond first aid or simple painkillers, stressing that patients cannot find the medicines they need, or even the minimum treatment supplies or anesthesia.
The suffering of patients is inseparable from that of the medical teams themselves, who continue to work under mounting pressure and with extremely limited resources.
Khaled Siam, a medic working at a medical point inside one of the UNRWA displacement centers, said that the center receives between 150 and 200 cases every day, at a time when only a very small number of staff are available.
He explained that the pressure is not limited to direct war injuries, but also includes illnesses spreading among the population, especially skin and respiratory diseases, which require continuous treatment and follow-up amid the absence of hospitals and adequate medical equipment.
He added that medical teams are trying to adapt to whatever is available and provide care with the bare minimum of resources, but the scale of need far exceeds their ability to respond.
Since the ceasefire, Gaza’s health system remains far from any real recovery, as restrictions on the entry of medical equipment and rehabilitation materials continue, along with the overwhelming pressure on the few remaining operational facilities.
At a time when the world marks World Health Day with slogans about access to care and health equity, the people of Gaza are confronted with a starkly different reality — one in which access to treatment has become a daily struggle, in a health sector devastated by war and denied any real opportunity to recover during the ceasefire.
