SAFA -  An Israeli airstrike on a warehouse storing kidney treatment supplies at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza has heightened concerns over the worsening healthcare crisis in the Strip, with health officials warning that the attack could deprive thousands of patients of life-saving treatment.

Speaking to Safa News Agency on Saturday, Gaza Health Ministry Director-General Munir Al-Bursh said the strike targeted a warehouse located behind the hospital’s outpatient clinics that housed essential supplies for kidney patients. He described the attack as a dangerous escalation, arguing that Israeli operations are now targeting not only healthcare facilities and personnel but also the medical supplies upon which patients depend for survival.

Al-Bursh said the strike comes at a time when Gaza’s health sector is already facing catastrophic shortages. According to him, about 25% of laboratory equipment is no longer functional due to damage and a shortage of replacement parts, and more than half of necessary medications and medical supplies are unavailable.

Al-Bursh stressed that the destruction of the warehouse will have immediate consequences for patients requiring regular dialysis and cancer patients dependent on ongoing treatment. He warned that the loss of even a single medical stockpile under current conditions could prove fatal for hundreds of patients.

“Losing these supplies is effectively a death sentence for many patients,” he said, noting that operating rooms and intensive care units are already struggling with severe shortages of medicines, equipment, and other critical resources.

The strike also caused significant damage to tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the vicinity of the hospital, according to health officials.

Al-Bursh stated that medical warehouses and healthcare supplies are protected under international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks on civilian medical infrastructure and resources.

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli warplanes bombed the warehouse designated for kidney treatment supplies at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, one of the main medical facilities serving central Gaza.

Hospital Director Raed Hussein condemned the attack, describing it as part of what he called the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system. He said the hospital was already struggling with acute shortages of medicines, medical equipment, and essential supplies before the warehouse was struck.

“Targeting pharmaceutical warehouses further deepens an already catastrophic crisis and places hundreds of patients and wounded individuals at immediate risk,” Hussein said.

He added that repeated attacks on healthcare facilities across Gaza have severely undermined the territory’s ability to provide medical care, warning that the continued destruction of health infrastructure is depriving Palestinians of access to essential treatment and basic healthcare services.