Gaza’s medical crisis is terrifying and getting worse

Gaza’s medical crisis is unthinkable even by the standards of the war-torn region. Infectious diseases ranging from chickenpox to cholera are rampant among the population. Critical medical supplies are being blocked at the border. And hospitals are overflowing with seriously ill patients.

Four months into Israel’s brutal war against Hamas, the situation looks set to get even worse.

Israel is poised to launch an invasion of Rafah, endangering the more than 1 million Palestinians, mostly women and children, who have taken refuge in the southern city. Hopes for a humanitarian respite are fading after US-brokered ceasefire talks broke down in Cairo this week. And the United States has frozen funding to the main UN aid agency in Gaza, further endangering efforts to provide already tenuous medical aid.

“The biggest thing that has come up is health,” Palestinian Authority Health Minister Mai al-Kaira told The Hill this week. “Because there are so many injured people every day. We have thousands of patients, and as you know most hospitals are closed, there is no place for them to be treated, no place to be safe. .”

Al-Qayla is based in Ramallah in the West Bank, which is ruled by the Palestinian Authority, and his deputy is based in Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

According to a report provided to The Hill, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says more than 28,000 Gazans have been killed, 70% of them women and children, and another 8,000 are buried under rubble. It is presumed that he is missing.

Many hospitals are “not functioning at all”

Saleem Zar, executive director of the United Palestine Appeal (UAP), said that the ongoing situation in the Gaza Strip has reduced hospitals to functional “first aid clinics.”

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region who spoke to The Hill estimate that there are currently only 13 hospitals operating at some level, the same number of hospitals that Hamas attacked in Israel on October 7. That’s about a third of the hospitals operating in Gaza before the attacks, al-Qaira said. It is likely closer to the 9th, as hospitals have evacuated staff to evacuation centers due to a possible bomb attack.

“No place is fully operational with all the medicines and supplies they need, and many are not functioning at all,” said Sean Carroll, president and CEO of the nonprofit Anela.

Al-Qaira said Gaza had a relatively robust medical infrastructure before the war, thanks in part to the strong presence of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“The healthcare system in Gaza is made up of the government and UNRWA. And UNRWA plays an excellent role in the healthcare system in Gaza, and since the majority of Gaza’s population are refugees, UNRWA provides almost 70 percent of the population. We have you covered,” Alkaira said.

“Unfortunately, only 22 of these clinics, whether government or UNRWA, are operational, and nine of the 36 hospitals are partially functional.”

Israel blockade, power outage

Carroll and Zar said local efforts by NGOs such as Anera and UAP to bring resources into Gaza have been thwarted or blocked by Israeli authorities.

“We had 50 trucks when we should have had 2,000. And Israel says they are always increasing the number of trucks, which is simply not true. But the average is still just over 100 trucks per day,” Carroll said.

Zar said UAP began stockpiling locally sourced medical supplies and medicines in the region two years ago as part of a five-year strategic plan. His organization was able to supply affiliated hospitals for the first month and a half of the war, but then access was cut off and his organization sent an ambulance to his hospital to get additional supplies. It was no longer possible to send even one of the cars to the warehouse.

Zall said his group is considering options for telemedicine and mobile services to provide assistance, but those methods require access to electricity, which is an increasingly scarce resource. He said that it has become.

The Ministry of Health’s report said: “Communication blackouts under Israeli occupation have prevented Gaza residents from accessing critical life-saving information and reaching first responders, impeding various forms of humanitarian response. “It has said.

Medical supplies such as insulin and blood are in extreme shortage. A lack of testing facilities means infectious diseases go undiagnosed, allowing pathogens to spread more easily.

The Biden administration has said it regularly asks Israel to allow increased flows of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Inquiries to the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. about facilitating aid to Gaza were referred to the Israeli government’s Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territory, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Increase in the number of infected people and concerns about the spread of infection

Lack of adequate clean water and safe sanitation has already caused more than 161,000 cases of diarrhea and other illnesses, said Amani Mustafa, country director of West Bank-based Palestinian Women International. There have been approximately 85,000 cases of diarrhea. She is a child under 5 years old.

“Food insecurity and health conditions are dire. Our partners in Gaza, Wefaq, say there are thousands of female cancer patients without medicine or protection. Suffering from kidney failure and on dialysis, “There are people who cannot access dialysis services even though they should. Due to poor hygiene, cases of scabies, lice and skin rashes are on the rise,” she told The Hill.

Mustafa added that other health conditions include acute respiratory infections and about 6,000 cases of chickenpox.

The Ministry of Health has reported more than 223,000 cases of acute respiratory illness and more than 55,000 cases of scabies and lice.

Without prompt intervention, there are growing concerns that some kind of outbreak could occur in Gaza, where unsanitary conditions are common and there is nowhere to bury decomposing bodies.

“When people are dying and no one buries them, what happens as a result? Disease, disease, right? We’re at a point where we’re getting into a pandemic, new diseases, new viruses, new events,” John Davit, president of the American Council on Palestine, told The Hill.

At Rapha, the fight to stay alive

An Israeli attack on Rafah would further endanger the millions of Gazans who have sought refuge there.

Mustafa says more than 1 million Palestinians are crammed into Rafah, on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. The Ministry of Health currently estimates the city’s population density at 12,000 people per square kilometer.

“Many people are living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing bombings elsewhere in Gaza. Those who have moved to Rafah, which was considered a ‘safe’ area, have been forced to flee from the invasion from the ground. “We fear that this could be catastrophic and worsen the already dire humanitarian situation,” she added.

Amid growing concerns of a potentially huge loss of life in the city that could trigger a new wave of pressure and condemnation against Israel, the Biden administration has announced that Israel has an adequate security plan in place to keep civilians safe in Rafah. The government is issuing increasingly strong warnings to take action. war with Hamas.

Marie Clark, chief program officer at Women for Women International, told The Hill that women working with partner Wifaq Women and Childcare Association in Gaza are facing increasingly dire conditions. He said he has expressed concern about the situation.

Israel launched an attack on Rafah last week as part of a rescue operation to free two hostages captured in the October 7, 2023 attack.

Amna, a woman whose name has been changed to protect her identity, spoke to The Hill about the chaos she experienced among people temporarily living in Rafah refugee camp after hearing bombs falling from Apache fighter jets.

“All the people living in tents around the house came out of their tents and started screaming. It was a sight of fear and people running for their lives,” she said in a WhatsApp voice note.

“We live a life where we breathe and eat just to stay alive. One leaves one’s destiny in the hands of God,” she added.

US funding freeze makes the pain worse

Further complicating the issue of aid reaching Gaza are recent claims by Israel that 12 personnel working for UNRWA were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel. . A further 240 people were taken hostage. About half of Hamas’ prisoners remain.

Last month, the US government, UNRWA’s largest donor, suspended funding to the agency following the allegations, disrupting the organization’s continued aid efforts.

Al Khaira, who worked for UNRWA for 17 years, called on the US to amend its decision, arguing that funding cannot be stopped based on unconfirmed claims. Mr. Al Khaira pointed out that more than 30,000 people are employed by UNRWA inside and outside the Palestinian Territories.

“They are carrying out collective punishment against refugees who live in very difficult conditions and are very economically poor,” she said.

“I think they should revise their decision and look at it from a different angle, a humanitarian perspective.”

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said at a news conference last month that the White House must hold UNRWA’s bad actors accountable despite efforts from larger organizations.

“They have literally helped save thousands of lives in Gaza. They are doing important work. There are people within that group who potentially need to be punished for this kind of behavior. It doesn’t mean there aren’t people. But it’s not a condemnation of the organization as a whole,” Kirby said.

The Hill reached out to the White House about the impact the freeze will have on UNRWA’s funding and future plans. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the impact of the decision earlier this month.

“We know that the work and functions that UNRWA does must be maintained because so many lives depend on it,” he said. “So going forward, we’re going to be looking at the actions that are taken. And as I said, it’s essential that we maintain functionality.”

But Anera’s Carroll said there was no viable alternative to what UNRWA was offering.

“There is no institution or collection of institutions that can replace UNRWA,” he said. “They are the largest service providers and the largest employers. And in the midst of war, when not enough aid is getting to those who need it, UNRWA cannot cut its capabilities out from under it. .”