Horror and Grief: Inside Gaza’s Hospitals

For Palestinians in Gaza, medical care is on the brink of collapse.

In Gaza, a place where many Palestinians live, hospitals are having a really tough time. They are struggling to help sick people because they don't have enough fuel, electricity, and medical supplies. This is happening because of a blockade imposed by Israel.

One of the hospitals that treat cancer in Gaza had to close on November 1st because it ran out of fuel. This is really bad news for the people who need cancer treatment. The biggest hospital in Gaza might also lose power any time, which means the machines that help patients in intensive care and during surgeries might stop working. This could lead to more people getting seriously sick.

Some pictures taken by photographers show how bad things are in Gaza's hospitals. In some cases, doctors have to do surgeries without giving patients anesthesia to numb the pain. This is very painful for the patients. Because there are not enough basic medical supplies and clean water, doctors have had to mix dirty water with saline, a solution used in medical treatments. There's also a big problem with electricity, and there aren't enough beds or medical staff to take care of all the people hurt by Israeli airstrikes. So, some patients are even treated on the floor of the hospital.

This situation is making doctors make really tough decisions. They have to choose who to help first because they can't save everyone. Dr. Nidal Abed, who works in Gaza's hospitals, said, "You have to decide because you know that many will not make it."

The trouble started when Hamas, a group in Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7th, killing more than 1,400 Israelis, most of them being regular people, not soldiers. In response, Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza, causing a lot of damage. These attacks destroyed many buildings and homes in Gaza, where more than 2 million Palestinians live, and half of them are children.

Since October 7th, over 8,500 Palestinians have lost their lives, including more than 3,500 children. More than 21,000 Palestinians have been injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Israel has allowed some aid to enter Gaza and has let some injured Palestinians go to Egypt for treatment, but they are still keeping many things, like fuel, water, food, and electricity, from getting into Gaza. They say they are doing this to prevent Hamas from getting stronger.

Because of this, more than one-third of Gaza's hospitals and almost two-thirds of the primary health care centers have been shut down. This puts a lot of pressure on the hospitals that are still open. These hospitals not only have to treat the injured but also provide shelter for Palestinians who have been forced to leave their homes. About 1.4 million Palestinians, which is around half of Gaza's population, have had to leave their homes, according to the United Nations.

The Israeli government has told hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate, but the medical staff is refusing to leave behind patients who need intensive care. They are worried that even hospitals could be targeted because Israel thinks some of them might have Hamas command centers underground. However, the group denies this, and the United States has said that hospitals should not be military targets.

In late October, Lynn Hastings, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said, "For people who can't evacuate – because they have nowhere to go or are unable to move – advance warnings make no difference. Nowhere is safe in Gaza." This means that many people in Gaza are in a very difficult and dangerous situation, and they have nowhere to go for safety.