Inside Gaza’s largest medical complex, doctors are now forced to treat patients without the most basic diagnostic tools. At Al-Shifa Hospital, the destruction of medical imaging equipment has pushed healthcare workers into an impossible position, where life-saving decisions must be made without scans, images or reliable clinical confirmation. The damage has stripped the hospital of its ability to function as a referral centre at a time when injuries and critical illnesses are surging amid the genocidal war.

According to medical staff at the hospital, advanced imaging devices were deliberately rendered unusable. Newly installed MRI machines were destroyed, and the entire stock of such machines across the Gaza Strip has been eliminated. CT scanners were burned inside hospital facilities, while nearly all ultrasound machines were damaged, leaving only a single unit operating at minimal capacity. Even conventional radiology units were not spared, with most destroyed and the remaining equipment outdated and incapable of meeting patient demand.

The consequences have been immediate and severe. Without accurate imaging, doctors struggle to diagnose internal injuries, neurological conditions and complex illnesses, particularly in emergency cases. Delays and uncertainty have worsened patients’ conditions, placing lives at constant risk. Hospital administrators warn that the broader healthcare system is nearing total collapse, as repeated attacks and restrictions continue to dismantle what remains of Gaza’s medical infrastructure during the ongoing genocide.