How Israel Destroyed Gaza’s Health System ‘Deliberately and Methodically’
GAZA/JERUSALEM — Gaza’s health system has been pushed to the brink of collapse after months of sustained Israeli military operations that humanitarian groups and medical officials say have systematically dismantled hospitals, clinics, and emergency services, leaving millions without access to basic care.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry and international aid agencies, more than half of Gaza’s hospitals are no longer functional. At the same time, many of those still standing operate only partially, struggling with severe shortages of fuel, medicines, medical staff, and electricity. Repeated airstrikes, ground incursions, and restrictions on supplies have rendered intensive care units, operating theatres, and maternity wards unusable, doctors say.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that attacks on medical infrastructure have followed a “pattern that appears deliberate and methodical”, citing damage to hospital compounds, ambulance convoys, and primary care centres. WHO officials say dozens of health facilities have been hit since the war escalated, despite their coordinates being shared with Israeli authorities under international humanitarian protocols.
Medical workers on the ground describe hospitals turning into mass casualty sites with little capacity to treat patients. “We are performing surgeries without anaesthesia, sterilisation, or power,” said one Gaza-based surgeon, speaking to international media under condition of anonymity. “This is not a health system anymore. It is survival medicine.”
Israel has repeatedly denied targeting civilians or healthcare facilities, stating that Hamas uses hospitals and medical buildings as command centres and weapons storage sites — an allegation Hamas rejects. Israeli officials argue that strikes on or near medical facilities are carried out only when there is intelligence indicating militant activity.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, say the destruction of Gaza’s health system may amount to collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law. They have called for independent investigations and unrestricted humanitarian access to the enclave.
As fighting continues, the collapse of healthcare has compounded an already dire humanitarian crisis. Preventable deaths from infections, untreated chronic diseases, childbirth complications, and trauma injuries are rising sharply, aid groups report.
With ceasefire talks stalled and aid deliveries limited, doctors warn that Gaza’s health system may not recover for years — even if the war were to end today.
