Hospitals across Gaza are struggling to cope with an unprecedented influx of patients, with children arriving in numbers far beyond what facilities can safely manage. Health officials say the pressure has intensified in recent weeks, exposing the depth of damage inflicted on a medical system already weakened by a prolonged genocidal war and years of deprivation. Wards are overcrowded, corridors are lined with stretchers, and staff are forced to make impossible choices as demand vastly outstrips capacity.

Doctors report a sharp rise in infectious illnesses among children, particularly respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, fuelled by overcrowding, poor sanitation and exposure to the elements. With winter conditions setting in, cold temperatures, heavy rain and strong winds are compounding the risks for families living in makeshift shelters or damaged buildings. Many people are confined to a shrinking portion of the territory, often in structures deemed unsafe, some of which have collapsed with residents still inside.

The strain is not limited to beds and staff. Severe shortages of blood supplies and essential medicines are placing lives in immediate danger, a situation health officials link to widespread hunger that has weakened the population throughout the year. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, the suffering has not eased. Restrictions and delays on the entry of medical aid continue, deepening what doctors describe as one of the most critical health emergencies Gaza has ever faced. Without swift and unhindered intervention, they warn, preventable deaths among children and the elderly will continue to rise.