Hospitals across Gaza are warning that lives are hanging by a thread as their blood reserves reach breaking point. With operating theatres, maternity wards and intensive care units now facing severe shortages, doctors fear that the most basic medical procedures could soon become impossible.

The collapse of the blood supply is rooted in more than war injuries alone. Months of famine and deprivation have left many people too weak to donate, draining the system of the vital lifeline it once relied upon. Without fresh donations or external supplies, urgent surgeries are being delayed and patients with chronic illnesses are left in limbo.

For the wounded arriving each day under bombardment, and for those already battling cancer, kidney failure or hereditary blood disorders, the shortage is nothing short of deadly. Medical workers warn that if the blockade on medical aid continues, hospitals will be reduced to watching their patients fade away, abandoned to a slow and preventable death.