Gaza Aid Crisis Overwhelms Medical System
Gaza’s healthcare providers are struggling to cope with a surge in casualties amid near-daily mass casualty events. Medical officials and aid workers report that the wounded are overwhelming already-strained resources, as people desperately seek assistance.
Desperate Search for Aid Turns Deadly
Many patients report being shot as they attempted to reach distribution centers. These sites are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization backed by the U.S. and Israel, which began distributing food in late May. Large crowds gathering around UN convoys have also resulted in injuries as desperate people loot supplies.
Dr. Mohammed Saqr, nursing director at Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex, described the scenes as “truly shocking – they resemble the horrors of judgment day.”
He noted his facility sometimes receives 100-150 cases in just a half-hour, including fatalities and severe injuries. According to Saqr, 95% of these stem from what he called “American food distribution centers.”
Hospitals Face Unprecedented Strain
Between May 27 and July 2, 640 people were killed and over 4,500 injured while seeking aid, per Gaza’s Ministry of Health. This influx has pushed the healthcare system to the brink. Every available bed is occupied, and patients are being treated on the floor. Saqr added that most injuries are gunshot wounds to the head and chest, with some arriving with amputated limbs.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported a sharp increase in mass casualty events linked to aid distribution over the past month. Since the start of the new distribution system, the ICRC’s 60-bed field hospital in Rafah has treated over 2,200 weapon-wounded patients and recorded over 200 deaths.
“The scale and frequency of these incidents are without precedent. In just over a month, the number of patients treated has surpassed the total seen in all mass casualty events during the entire previous year.”
—ICRC Statement
The ICRC statement noted that victims include toddlers, teenagers, the elderly, mothers, and overwhelmingly, young men and boys. Most of whom, the statement claims, were simply trying to get food or aid for their families.
According to the World Health Organization, there have been 512 attacks on health care in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in 758 deaths (WHO, June 2024).
Field Hospitals Struggle with Shortages
A UK-Med 86-bed field hospital in al-Mawasi has also seen many casualties injured while seeking aid. Dr. Clare Jeffreys, a British emergency medicine specialist at the hospital, said she has seen a lot of gunshot injuries from people reporting they were hurt at or near food distribution sites.
One patient with severe abdominal wounds told Jeffreys he was injured while picking up a food box. The GHF denies any incidents at its sites and blames Israeli troops for firing on Palestinians trying to reach their hubs.
The GHF claims it has distributed 62 million meals and is “working tirelessly to distribute free food aid directly to the people of Gaza safely and without interference.”
The Israeli military maintains it does not target civilians and takes precautions to avoid harming non-combatants, adhering to international law.
However, following a Haaretz report quoting soldiers describing orders to fire on civilians seeking aid, the Israeli military said it was reviewing its operations around aid distribution sites. Jeffreys also reported the UK-Med hospital faces critical shortages of basic supplies. “We are really struggling,”
she said, citing a lack of external fixators, painkillers, antibiotics, and anesthetics.
Healthcare System Decimated
Gaza’s healthcare system has been devastated since October 2023. Almost half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are out of service, with remaining facilities operating at reduced capacity, all struggling with shortages of supplies and equipment. Staff are struggling to treat a constant stream of injuries, primarily from gunfire, overwhelming the already weakened system, according to the ICRC.
Medics say shortages are worse than at the start of the war, with fuel shortages threatening a total shutdown of medical services. Haitam al-Hasan, a nurse at the ICRC’s Rafah hospital, noted the increase in workload: “In the previous rotations, we would work in the operating theatre on between eight and 10 cases. Right now, we are working on 30-40 cases per day.”
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that 1,580 doctors and medical personnel have been killed in the conflict. On July 2, an Israeli airstrike killed Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, a renowned cardiologist and director of the Indonesian hospital. The slain also include other doctors, chief nurses, senior midwives, and young medical graduates.
