Studio anchor (Tom, Doha):
Two and a half years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza have left a health care system on the brink of collapse. Not a single hospital in the strip is fully functional. More than 90% of health facilities have been either damaged or completely destroyed. On day two of our series Gaza: Promises and Reality, we’re looking at Israel’s systematic destruction of clinics and hospitals. We’ll report on the stories of those who depend on life-saving medicines that they just can’t access. Over now to [correspondent] and the team in Gaza.
Correspondent, Gaza:
Thank you so much, Tom, and welcome to our special coverage live from Khan Younis. I’m here at Nasser Hospital, the largest in southern Gaza and the lifeline for thousands of people here. But like most hospitals across the territory, it’s partly functioning. Most health facilities have been damaged, destroyed, or put out of service. Israel, for its part, is still heavily restricting the entry of goods into the strip, putting life-saving medicines out of reach for many. My colleague [reporter] met families of the children with type 1 diabetes who are struggling to find them.
Reporter (diabetes report), voiceover:
This is [name], searching for insulin for her 10-year-old son Amir, who lives with type 1 diabetes in Gaza. She returns home empty-handed each time, carrying the worries of her son. With expired test strips, she tests her son’s blood sugar twice a day, and each time the result is alarming. The test strips aren’t the only thing that has expired — the insulin itself is also past its date.
Amir’s mother:
I suffer with Amir. The insulin is expired and the test strips aren’t available anywhere in the country. We go out searching for test strips and insulin, but they’re nowhere to be found. And if they are, they’re too expensive.
Reporter, voiceover:
For Naveen Habush, every day she gets through without fainting from low blood sugar is a victory. Her mother goes over her lessons with her once she’s back from school. But there is one important lesson — the lesson of healthy eating: what to eat and what to avoid. Her mother is constantly in a state of panic, because expired insulin is her only available option. Playtime is limited to just one hour indoors, since Naveen’s body is very weak and she tires quickly, so she can remain under her mother’s watchful eyes.
Naveen’s mother:
I worry about her a lot, especially when she goes to school, because expired treatment is not effective at all. When she leaves, I wait for her at the door and keep reminding her, “If you feel anything, tell your teacher.”
Reporter, voiceover:
Doctors warn that the risks of using expired insulin can be life-threatening. At Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, Dr. Jalal Al-Arawi is concerned about children with type 1 diabetes and the risks of using expired insulin.
Dr. Jalal Al-Arawi (pediatric endocrinology and diabetes specialist):
The complications of using expired insulin may include a sudden rise in blood sugar, or increased acidity in the body, which can be severe enough to require admission to the intensive care unit.
Reporter:
For many families here, every injection has become a question of survival rather than recovery. Parents wander from one pharmacy to another, chasing insulin and test strips that have vanished, while diabetic patients are left navigating survival, uncertain if they will see the next day or not. Mohammed Al-Jazzar, Gaza City, Palestine.
Reporter (healthcare-destruction report):
Israeli strikes have systematically destroyed Gaza’s healthcare system. Hospitals have been repeatedly hit. Doctors and medical workers have also been deliberately targeted. A ceasefire agreed to last October has not stopped the killing of health workers. Under international law, targeting hospitals is a war crime. But since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, it has directly and systematically targeted healthcare infrastructure across the strip.
The first was a massive explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City in October 2023. The Palestinian health ministry said 500 people were killed and hundreds injured. Israel denied it, blamed Hamas, which denied the accusations. Since then, the Israeli military has gone on to strike hospitals and medical facilities in northern, central, and southern Gaza. The strikes have forced critically ill patients out onto the streets.
In August last year, a double-tap strike at the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza killed 20 people. Among them were five journalists, including one who worked for Al Jazeera. The Israeli military has also laid siege to several hospitals and held medical staff and patients captive. In one such raid at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in December 2024, it arrested its director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He’s been held for more than 500 days without formal charges. He appeared before the Israeli Supreme Court on June 10th through a video conference.
Ambulances and aid convoys have also been hit. In March last year, the Israeli military hit a humanitarian convoy and rescue team in southern Gaza, killing 15 aid workers. The Palestinian health ministry says 1,700 health workers have been killed since the start of the war.
Israel is also blocking medical aid into Gaza — medicines, equipment needed for surgeries, even anesthesia has been blocked. Despite the ceasefire, the ongoing border closures that we are seeing, and also the logistical problems and a ban on important charities, have left hospitals with critical shortages. Currently, of the 38 hospitals and nearly 160 primary healthcare centers, a little over half are functioning, but none of them are able to operate at full capacity.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, almost 21,000 people should have been allowed to leave Gaza by now — that’s what was promised in the US ceasefire deal agreed in October. About one-third of them were meant to be patients in need of urgent medical care, along with two companions each. In reality, fewer than 7,500 people have been allowed to leave in total — a compliance rate of just 36%. Today, tens of thousands of people who have been declared for urgent evacuation are still trapped in Gaza. Many won’t survive.
Correspondent, Gaza (studio interview):
Dr. Ahmed Farah is the head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital, joining me right now in the studio to get a critical reading of the medical reality that they have been going through since day one of the genocide, versus what has been promised to be taking place during this ceasefire and the first phase of it. Thank you, Dr. Ahmed, for joining us today. We know that you have been operating at Nasser Hospital since day one of this genocidal war, and you have been responsible for providing medical care for dozens of patients on a daily basis. Could you tell us more about what has seriously changed after nearly three years of genocidal war in Gaza in the health of Gaza’s children?
Dr. Ahmed Farah (head of pediatrics, Nasser Hospital):
Really, first, thank you for having me and giving me this opportunity to talk about the situation in Gaza after 1,000 days of this offensive war, or criminal war. You know, it is not something like a serious criminal crime against Gaza — no, no. It is something targeting the human existence foundation, something we term “health genocide.” They are attacking the health sector. As you can see, they tried to turn the hospital into concrete shells. It’s out of service, out of medical supplies, out of doctors. They targeted everything in the hospital, because they used to target human existence itself.
What is the difference between now and before the war? We could write a textbook about that. Let’s start with the beginning of the cycle. When a woman is displaced from one place to another, she wants to be pregnant — she’s a wife. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the opportunity to have this pregnancy. There is no privacy. She is displaced from place to place. If she’s pregnant — and this unfortunately decreases the fertility rate during the war in Gaza — unfortunately this baby will be weak. He has the chance, unfortunately, for stillbirth, for congenital malformation, for intrauterine growth retardation, for being premature. Why? Because she doesn’t have the vitamins, the supplements; she doesn’t have suitable water; she doesn’t have suitable food; she’s under famine; she’s under severe psychological disturbance while being evacuated, while displaced, while being attacked here or there. And when she wants to come to the hospital, she doesn’t have the transport to come.
Correspondent, Gaza:
Dr. Ahmed, you made a very good point regarding the lack of medical supplies. From your own perspective, how could Gaza’s hospitals — I mean, what’s left of them — continue providing healthcare services amid these shortages?
Dr. Ahmed Farah:
My friend, we expected that with this fake ceasefire, everything would change. But I’ll tell you — and I swear about that — that this period of time is the worst period among these 1,000 days. That means we expected a lot of medical supplies to come inside Gaza, but unfortunately this didn’t happen. For just one example: the diabetes mellitus patients, the children — they don’t have insulin. It is the hormone of life for them. They don’t have the kits for examining blood glucose. They don’t have the HbA1c. Today we had a meeting in the morning — we don’t have arterial blood gases for the pediatric ICU. We don’t have electrolytes for them. We don’t have real CBC. We don’t have a lot of the investigations. If we visit the orthopedic section, we don’t have internal and external fixation. A lot of surgeries are stopped in Gaza. Even hemodialysis is stopped by 50%, because of lack of equipment and lack of instruments.
Correspondent, Gaza:
Absolutely, it’s a very disturbing reality. Thank you so much for joining us on Al Jazeera. As Dr. Ahmed mentions, it’s a very disturbing reality. Now, access to treatment for heart patients is increasingly difficult. There is only one specialist cardiac machine still basically operating in Gaza. And as my colleague [reporter] reports, it’s an anxious wait for hundreds of patients in need of urgent care.
Reporter (cardiac report):
A racing heartbeat, chest pain, a blocked artery, and the growing fear that help may not arrive in time. For heart patients in Gaza, each day brings new uncertainty. Inside the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Al-Quds Hospital, doctors are fighting to save lives with very limited resources and only one catheter machine. But the machine alone is not enough.
Dr. Wael Hijazi (cardiologist):
This is the only catheterization machine currently working in Gaza. For the past six months, it has played the main role in saving the lives of heart patients. But if the patient arrives and we don’t have the necessary supplies or equipment, we cannot treat them. We have to refer them abroad, and we don’t know whether they will survive long enough to receive treatment. I expect many patients may deteriorate and die while waiting.
Reporter:
But the challenge goes far beyond a single machine. Specialist equipment like stents and contrast dye are all critically scarce. Without these essential supplies, many life-saving cardiac interventions simply cannot be performed. Doctors say they’re forced to prioritize only the most urgent cases. At least 500 patients are on waiting lists for cardiac procedures, with many waiting weeks as their conditions worsen.
Cardiac patient:
I’m afraid I will have a stroke while waiting for my operation. I asked for a catheterization procedure, but they told me they don’t have the supplies and that treatment is only available outside Gaza. I cannot leave Gaza. Thousands of people are waiting. By the time my turn comes, it may be too late.
Reporter:
For those on the list, every passing day brings more risk and uncertainty. Until additional supplies arrive, doctors say they’re left making difficult decisions. Behind me is Gaza’s only functioning cardiac catheterization machine. For thousands of patients here, access to this room means the difference between life and death. Al Jazeera, Gaza, Palestine.
Correspondent, Gaza:
Cancer patients are struggling to survive the conflict and their illness. One 30-year-old mother has been undergoing chemotherapy while being displaced and struggling to find food. She dreams of the day she can leave to get the care she needs abroad. Here is her own story, in her own words.
Cancer patient (30-year-old mother) -Amani Shakshak:
I first discovered the illness during the war. It began with symptoms brought on by exhaustion and a severely weakened immune system. I was constantly falling ill and feeling extreme fatigue. Later, doctors found two masses in my breast – a tumor. They explained that there was abnormal tissue that should not be there and that I needed a biopsy. I underwent the biopsy under very difficult conditions, with war and shelling all around. After that I began chemotherapy sessions. I had to start chemotherapy during a time of war and famine. I chose to continue treatment even when there was no food available. My body was extremely weak and my weight had dropped to 42 kg. I would go for treatment but often I was not physically strong enough to receive it. The doctor felt sorry for me and gave me IV fluids so I could tolerate chemotherapy. There was no proper food, no resources and limited access to treatment. Even reaching the hospital was difficult because of the war and finding medication was a constant struggle. In total I received eight chemotherapy doses while moving between difficult areas. I went from one displacement are to another until I eventually reached here and later moved to Al-Mawasi, where I live now, which is not suitable for my condition or for living at all. There is smoke, fires, foul smells and widespread pollution. We are living near stagnant water and the environment is completely unsafe and unhealthy. My present wish is to leave Gaza and receive treatment abroad. Doctors have told me that as long as I live here, I will continue to need chemotherapy. Outside Gaza there are specialized machines, advanced tumor treatments, surgery options and radiation therapy. My doctor told me: “As long as you are here, I will keep giving you chemotherapy because the other treatments are not available, but there is a risk the tumor could spread throughout your body”. I hope to leave as soon as possible, receive the treatment I need and return to my children and my life as I once knew it. I am afraid of death. I don’t want to die and leave my children behind. I am scared.

Correspondent, Gaza:
That’s it from me and the team here in Gaza. On Tuesday, we will take a look at the social reality of life in the strip. For now, it’s back to Doha.