Gaza’s healthcare system is nearing total collapse as Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the largest hospital in the Strip, operates at just a quarter of its capacity. Once a cornerstone of care for the region’s 2.3 million residents, the hospital is now overwhelmed by waves of wounded civilians, displaced families, and infectious diseases, all while cut off from essential supplies.

Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa, described the situation as “catastrophic.” With most northern hospitals destroyed or shuttered, and facilities like Al-Ahli Baptist under threat of evacuation due to Israeli strikes, Al-Shifa has become the last hope for hundreds of thousands. Yet, it is operating with only 150 beds out of 800, four functioning operating rooms out of 22, and just 13 intensive care beds, serving an estimated 1.5 million people.

The hospital’s capacity has been stretched beyond 200%, while critical shortages of medication, surgical tools, and sterile supplies have left doctors forced to choose between treating the wounded or the chronically ill. Many patients with heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension are left without treatment, while the emergency rooms are packed with the injured.

A severe outbreak of meningitis is adding to the burden. Around 400 children have been infected in overcrowded shelters and schools, where clean water is scarce and sewage floods the streets. With limited diagnostic tools and almost no access to necessary medications, medical staff are helpless to contain the spread.

Dr Ahmad Al-Farra of Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that the health crisis is unlike anything previously seen, blaming the collapse of sanitation infrastructure and relentless bombardment. Al-Shifa, he added, is no longer functioning as a full hospital, merely as a triage centre in a war zone.

As Gaza’s doctors are forced to perform impossible triage with empty shelves and broken equipment, calls for urgent international intervention are growing louder. Without immediate action, Gaza’s healthcare system, already under siege for more than 600 days, may not survive.