The health system in Gaza has suffered severe damage in recent years due to the blockade and embargo put in place by both Israel and the international community. In recent days it has also been forced to deal with an unprecedented volume of wounded, many of them in serious condition, as well as a lack of medicine, insufficient doctors and the inability to carry out certain medical procedures.

A severe shortage of critical medical equipment has also emerged. Information received from Physicians for Human Rights indicates operations are being performed without anesthesia, and surgical gloves, gauze, sterile equipment and oxygen have run out. Needles, stretchers and hospital beds are already in short supply.

Gaza Hospitals in Peril