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In Gaza, hospitals—once sanctuaries of healing—have become tragic symbols of a humanitarian catastrophe. As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, medical facilities are being bombed, raided, and overwhelmed, turning them into battlegrounds rather than places of refuge.
According to the World Health Organization, only 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational. These facilities are functioning with barely 1,800 beds, a number woefully inadequate for the tens of thousands injured since October 2023. Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of North Gaza’s main medical centers, was severely damaged in a December raid, forcing critical patients to be transferred to the Indonesian Hospital—another facility lacking basic supplies.
Al-Awda Hospital, the last operational hospital in North Gaza, is barely holding on. Doctors there are working under constant threat, with dwindling access to medicine, electricity, and clean water. The UN has verified over 650 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since the conflict began, resulting in nearly 900 deaths and over 1,300 injuries.
Healthcare workers are among the most vulnerable. More than 1,000 have been killed, and many others continue to risk their lives daily. “Wearing scrubs and white coats is like wearing a target on their backs,” said Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan of Medical Aid for Palestinians. Despite the danger, these professionals remain committed to their oath, treating patients in bombed-out wards and makeshift clinics.
The destruction of hospitals has drawn international condemnation. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called it a “human rights catastrophe,” urging all parties to respect international humanitarian law and protect medical facilities. Yet, the violence persists, and the health system teeters on the edge of collapse.
This crisis is not just about infrastructure—it’s about dignity, survival, and the moral responsibility of the global community. As Gaza’s hospitals fall, so too does the hope for recovery, unless urgent action is taken to restore access to care and uphold the sanctity of life.