Summary
A BMJ opinion by an Al-Shifa Hospital medical supervisor describes continued shortages, delayed procedures and restricted diagnostic services in Gaza. The account combines his experience at the hospital with system-wide figures reported in the article.
A BMJ opinion published on 27 October 2026 describes Gaza’s healthcare system as still operating in emergency conditions more than a year after a ceasefire agreement. Its author, Alaa Alshurafa, is a medical supervisor with Medical Aid for Palestinians at Al-Shifa Hospital. He describes conditions at the hospital and reports figures about services and supplies across Gaza.
The piece is commissioned and not externally peer reviewed. It is an account and commentary, not a new research study or system-wide survey. Alshurafa reports that patients arrive with preventable illnesses linked to overcrowding, contaminated water and inadequate sanitation, while shortages of medicines and supplies limit treatment. He says patients often return to the same conditions that contributed to their illness.
Care is constrained at several points
At Al-Shifa, Alshurafa says five of the hospital’s 10 previously functional buildings are operating, and not all are fully functional. He describes overcrowding, long surgical waiting lists and shortages of specialised staff. Some urological, elective and semi-elective procedures have been delayed for months, he writes, with complications and disease progression following those delays.
The account also describes gaps in diagnostic and treatment services. Magnetic resonance imaging and radiotherapy are no longer available in Gaza, according to the article, while access to computed tomography is severely limited. MRI and CT are imaging methods used to investigate conditions inside the body; radiotherapy is a treatment used for some cancers. Restricted access to these services can make complex conditions harder to diagnose or manage.
Alshurafa reports that around 50% of essential medicines and 64% of cancer drugs are fully out of stock, attributing the shortages to restrictions on medical supplies. He also cites a figure of about 14% of Gaza’s healthcare workforce since October 2023 having been killed, died, detained, left the profession or fled. That figure combines several different circumstances rather than describing deaths alone.
The strain extends beyond one hospital
The article reports that all 36 hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or rendered non-functional, and that more than 70% of medical laboratories are out of action. It also reports under-five mortality at 26.3 per 1,000 live births, describing this as a reversal of around 20 years of progress.
Together, the account’s examples show how disruption at multiple stages—from safe living conditions and medicine supply to diagnostics and specialist care—can constrain treatment. Alshurafa argues that recovery requires restoration of essential services and access for medical supplies, personnel and patients, alongside reconstruction of the health system.