Slow Deaths in Gaza: Thousands Risk Death Amid Absence of Medical Care

Thousands of Palestinians risk dying a slow death in Gaza amid the absence of treatment as a result of “Israel’s” war strategy of complete destruction in the city of Rafah, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. 

Reportedly, out of thousands of Palestinians, only a few have been able to evacuate the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the genocide in October and receive the necessary medical treatment they require. 

However, since the Israeli invasion of Rafah, a drastic halt in medical evacuations has been imposed, according to WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris, which means that ill Palestinians who have survived the Israeli onslaught in Gaza could die waiting for treatment. 

Before “Israel” invaded Gaza, between 50 and 100 people left the Strip to receive the medical treatment they needed, including cancer patients, due to its unavailability in the territory, but have not been able to since the siege and the genocide. 

“Those people didn’t go away simply because conflict started, so they all still need a referral,” Harris stated, noting that in addition to those already ill, thousands more have been severely injured by Israeli aggression and cannot get the treatment they need. 

UN estimations showed that there are around 10,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who need to be evacuated “to receive the much-needed medical treatment elsewhere,” with another 1,000 critically ill and injured patients added to the list. 

After “Israel’s” gruesome massacre in Rafah on May 26 and the constant aggression since, even more Palestinians require life-saving treatment. 

The deliberate destruction of medical facilities in Gaza 

This comes amid the deliberate Israeli destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza. “Israel” has been intentionally targeting hospitals and medical centers there since October. 

Most recently, Israeli occupation forces forced yet another hospital to shutter in Gaza, as the Kamal Adwan hospital was completely evacuated after the Israeli occupation forces bombarded it on Tuesday.

Two weeks ago, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital’s administration, a hospital located in the central Gaza Strip, announced that its facilities would run out of fuel in the coming 48 hours, forcing it to put its services on hold. 

Gaza’s Government Media Office said that the fuel shortage, experienced by the hospital, will spur an imminent “humanitarian crisis.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the closure of the Rafah border crossing, which is the only available land pathway into the besieged Gaza Strip via Egypt, will affect fuel and aid supplied, as well as the movement of civilians. 

The office urged immediate intervention to supply all of Gaza’s medical facilities with energy supplies and to rehabilitate destroyed and damaged facilities.