Patients at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza face the threat of starvation, health authorities have warned. The alarm comes amid a severe food shortage caused by the Israeli blockade on humanitarian deliveries into the Strip. While northern regions of Gaza have been particularly affected, the crisis is felt throughout the territory.
Food security organizations operating in Gaza report that virtually all children under the age of two in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis are failing to meet basic dietary requirements. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also severely affected, surviving on a restricted diet consisting of very few food groups. Vegetables and protein sources have almost entirely disappeared from people’s diets.
The impact of the food shortage is devastating. Since July, at least 4,000 children have been admitted each month for hunger-related illnesses; the real number of affected children is certainly even higher. Although United Nations partners have tried to maintain nutrition programs, constant attacks, and scarcity of materials have forced many of them to shut down, particularly in the areas worst hit by hunger.
As a result, many residents have resorted to scavenging for food in the rubble. Without basic safety equipment like gloves, this exposes them to heightened risks of injury and disease. These risks have already increased greatly due to the widespread destruction caused by Israeli attacks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has detected poliovirus in six environmental samples from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah following a polio immunization campaign earlier this year. This indicates that another immunization effort may soon be necessary, despite the ongoing devastation making it unlikely to fully succeed—again.
Read more: Final phase of polio vaccination in Gaza suspended amid Israeli attacks
Infectious diseases are not the only threat. “The war has also caused an epidemic of traumatic injuries with no rehabilitation services available,” stated UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini. “Now, Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world – many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anesthesia.”
These children are among 26,000 Palestinians—one-quarter of all those injured during Israel’s genocide—who have sustained life-altering injuries. With healthcare services in ruins, rehabilitation options are nonexistent, leaving patients unable to lead a dignified life or participate in any kind of social activity.
Meanwhile, attacks on health infrastructure continue. Between December 3 and December 7, Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza was attacked four times, with more staff and children killed. The Indonesian Hospital, also located in northern Gaza, endured four attacks over six days in approximately the same period, while Al-Awda Hospital sustained further destruction at the hands of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
Despite the level of destruction and injury, medical evacuations remain rare. While some patients have been transferred to hospitals in other parts of Gaza or abroad over the past weeks, at least 14,000 people are still awaiting medical evacuation—a backlog that has grown worse and worse since Israel closed the Rafah border in May.
Patients left behind endure horrific conditions. Essential medications and medical supplies are all but gone, and adequate care is unavailable even for critical groups, including pregnant women. Many women giving birth are discharged into unheated tents without access to hygiene supplies. As midwife Heba Al-Nashef told The Electronic Intifada, pregnant women must “care for a wound and a baby; and maybe their [breastmilk] is not enough, maybe [they] don’t have access to formula, and then having to deal with the consequences of that for their newborns.”
Without an immediate ceasefire, health conditions in Gaza are expected to worsen further. Even if hostilities ceased tomorrow, the long-term consequences of prolonged hunger, exposure to disease, and the collapse of medical care would undoubtedly leave scars that would take decades to heal.
People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and subscriptions to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.
