Health Care in Gaza Now a Privilege, Not a Right

Gaza's health system no longer makes headlines as it did during the Al Shifa hospital raids in November 2023 or the bombings of treatment facilities. Yet its collapse continues to deepen, especially in the temporary camps where the poorest and most vulnerable are forced to live.

According to a doctor who worked in Gaza, in the camps, the shattered health system cannot reach those who need it most, and patients cannot reach the few remaining functioning medical facilities. The lack of sanitation, clean water, and exposure to extreme weather are making the health crisis even worse.

During a visit last month to a spontaneous camp at the Hassan Salama school in Gaza City, which was bombed along with the neighboring Nasr school in August 2024, killing at least 30 people, hundreds of displaced people are living in tents in the schoolyard and in the remaining parts of the building. No organization manages the camp, so no health services are provided.

A volunteer team of doctors from a private clinic came to offer free consultations to at least 150 patients in a single day. Cases included high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, hepatitis, scabies, and many children with chickenpox, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and respiratory infections.

For many patients, seeing a doctor has become nearly impossible due to travel costs, long distances, and exhaustion from displacement and heat. A 46-year-old man wounded in the leg by shrapnel and suffering from high blood pressure could not reach Al Rantisi Hospital because that facility only serves children and cancer patients. To get a free consultation, he had to pay at least $8 in transport—a significant sum for camp residents.

Delayed treatment, medicine shortages, and difficult living conditions can cause diseases to become severe, even fatal. Everything could be prevented if basic health services returned to Gaza, especially under the auspices of a major organization like UNRWA.

Before the war, UNRWA operated 22 clinics across Gaza; now only 6 are functioning. Only 19 of 34 hospitals are partially operational, with most departments unable to work due to destruction. Across Gaza there are now just 2,200 hospital beds for 2 million people, while Al Shifa Hospital alone previously had 700 beds.

Many health services such as testing, surgery, and treatment are no longer available due to shortages of supplies and staff. The destruction of medical facilities and the deprivation of housing for Gaza's people have turned the right to health care into a privilege. Urgent medical intervention is needed to rebuild hospitals, re-establish basic clinics, and reach the most vulnerable in the camps.