In the weeks following the ceasefire framework signed at Sharm El-Sheikh, Gaza’s hope for recovery is being thwarted by the persistent obstruction of humanitarian access, leaving the region’s health system on the verge of collapse. Agencies operating from centres such as al-Awda Health Centre in Nuseirat report that key crossings remain closed, aid consignments severely restricted and medical evacuations for hundreds of critically ill patients blocked. One official noted that deliveries have averaged just 145 trucks per day, only around a quarter of what was pledged under the truce’s humanitarian annex.

Fuel shortages and destruction of more than 90 % of the infrastructure have rendered many hospitals and clinics non-functional. Gaza’s health authorities state that over 80 % of hospitals and clinics have been destroyed or rendered inoperable. The siege is also causing a surge in malnutrition among children and pregnant women, with reports indicating that only approximately 10 % of required health supplies are entering the territory. Aid workers warn this is not accidental: “It’s a deliberate policy of suffocation,” one declared.

Legal judgments now underline the occupying power’s obligation to allow unfettered relief access. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently affirmed that the blockade, which has resulted in famine-like conditions and widespread infrastructure ruin, breaches international law by denying the civilian population the means to endure. Yet despite this, thousands of relief trucks remain stranded, medical evacuations denied and healthcare personnel unable to operate. In this environment, recovery becomes nearly impossible, and the gravely injured, chronically ill and pregnant women bear the heaviest burden.

The blockade and bombing have turned Gaza’s hospitals into battlegrounds and havens of devastation rather than care. Families in the enclave are now cooking over burning waste due to fuel shortages, while water and sewage systems lie in ruin. With each passing day, the health emergency deepens, pushing a beleaguered civilian population into a nightmare of disease, deprivation and despair. The world must recognise that permission to rebuild is not optional after conflict, it is a legal and moral imperative.