SAFA- For Gaza's residents, illness is only part of the struggle. Obtaining a medical diagnosis has become an ordeal, adding to the suffering people already endure amid widespread destruction.

Hundreds of patients face waiting lists that stretch for weeks or even months to receive a CT scan, an essential diagnostic tool for people with traumatic injuries, cancer, neurological conditions, and other life-threatening illnesses.

After the destruction of Gaza's major hospitals, the only operational CT scanner is located at the privately run Yafa Hospital in central Gaza. Medical staff say the machine is under constant pressure and frequently breaks down because of overuse and the lack of spare parts.

As a result, hospital waiting rooms have become places of silent suffering, where many patients say the endless delays have become as painful as their illnesses.

A Cycle of Delays

Palestinian Abdullah Asfour sits in a crowded waiting room clutching his medical file. He suffers from severe, persistent back pain, and doctors suspect he has a herniated disc that requires urgent imaging.

"I went to every hospital in Khan Younis looking for a CT scan, and the doctor barely managed to get me a referral," Asfour told Safa News Agency.

"There isn't a functioning machine. The scanner at Al-Hilal Hospital is broken, and the only one left is at Yafa Hospital."

Instead of receiving treatment, the 43-year-old has found himself trapped in a cycle of postponed appointments.

"I was shocked to learn that even the CT scanner at Yafa Hospital has a waiting list. My appointment is still two and a half months away," he said.

Mustafa Baraka, 56, also described his frustration.

"If I have to wait months for my appointment, how is my pain supposed to wait?" he asked.

Baraka has spent weeks searching for diagnostic imaging to determine the cause of severe pain in his feet.

"I can't continue my treatment without this examination," he said.

The Agony of Waiting

Yasmin Al-Louh, who urgently needs imaging to assess previous internal bleeding, said the uncertainty has become overwhelming.

"The agony of waiting, and the fear that the machine will break down again before my appointment, has made me forget my original pain," she told Safa News Agency.

"All my energy has gone into trying to secure an appointment before it's too late."

A Healthcare System in Collapse

Health officials say the crisis is the result of the widespread destruction of Gaza's medical infrastructure during the ongoing Israeli genocide.

Israeli attacks destroyed imaging equipment—including CT scanners, MRI machines, and X-ray units—in major government and private hospitals, leaving Gaza's diagnostic capacity severely crippled.

Zaher Al-Wahidi, head of the Information Department at Gaza's Ministry of Health, said 11 of the Strip's 17 CT scanners have been destroyed since the genocide began.

The remaining six scanners, he said, are frequently out of service because of continuous operation, mechanical failures, and the lack of spare parts.

Al-Wahidi also confirmed that no MRI machines remain operational anywhere in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds of patients without access to critical diagnostic imaging despite urgent medical need.