Gaza: The Ministry of Health in Gaza has issued a stark report on Tuesday detailing the devastating impact of the ongoing Israeli aggression, now entering its third year.
According to Qatar News Agency, the total number of those killed has reached 67,173, including 20,179 children, 10,427 women, 4,813 elderly individuals, and 31,754 men, with the number of wounded standing at 169,780.
The statement highlighted the severe toll on medical personnel, with 1,701 healthcare workers killed and 362 detained under conditions of enforced disappearance and deprivation of their human rights, stressing that 25 hospitals have been rendered non-operational out of 38, while 13 hospitals continue to function partially under extremely challenging conditions.
The occupation forces have destroyed 103 primary healthcare centers out of 157, with 54 centers still operating partially, despite the halt in the regular accessibility of medical supplies to safely reach the hospitals.
The statement underscored that the surging numbers of injuries and fatalities have exacerbated the severe shortage of medicines and medical consumables in critical hospital departments, with 55 percent of essential drugs at zero stock, 66 percent of medical consumables depleted, and 68 percent of laboratory supplies unavailable.
The Ministry emphasized that what Gaza has endured after two years of war is not merely a humanitarian crisis or a passing descriptor of a record overloaded with Israeli occupation crimes; it constitutes a deliberate and total collapse of the human existence pillar represented by the healthcare system.
It further noted that hospital bed occupancy soared to 225 percent by the end of September, compared to 82 percent during the same period in 2024, a catastrophic level amidst surging admissions and critical injuries.
The statement highlighted that direct targeting of healthcare institutions has destroyed electrical and electromechanical systems, with the occupation demolishing 25 out of 35 oxygen generation stations and 61 out of 110 electricity generators.
Accordingly, the levels of famine in Gaza have escalated to dangerously critical thresholds, as per UN classifications, recording 460 deaths due to malnutrition, including 154 children.
Additionally, 51,196 children under the age of five continue to suffer from severe malnutrition, the Ministry said, stressing that the forced congregation of citizens in what is euphemistically called “humanitarian zones” has worsened their health and humanitarian conditions, with the absence of basic life necessities driving disease proliferation, lack of potable water, and deprivation of essential food supplies.
The statement further warned that preventing the delivery of routine and emergency vaccinations has lowered child vaccination coverage to 80 percent, alongside the suspension of the fourth phase of polio vaccination, threatening the effectiveness of previous campaigns and compounding the risk of disease spread.
It also reported that 4,900 amputees and disabled individuals require assistive devices and long-term rehabilitation programs, while the closure of Rafah border crossing for patient and casualty movement has denied 18,000 patients the right to travel abroad for treatment, including 5,580 children.
The Ministry reaffirmed that medics in Gaza City continue to fulfill their humanitarian and national duty, despite facing hazards that pose a direct threat to their safety and the safety of patients and the wounded.
In a top urgent call, the Ministry entreated all relevant entities to exercise their full role in emergency interventions, ensuring the delivery of medical supplies and sustaining the provision of care.
It demanded the criminalization of continued occupation practices that undermine what remains of the healthcare system, protection of patients’ medical rights, and safeguarding of medical and emergency response teams.