[News] Targeting Gaza medicine stores deepens health crisis

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Reports <https://english.palinfo.com/category/reports/>
Targeting Gaza medicine stores deepens health crisis

Sunday 2-August-2026
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2026/08/02/367685/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2026/08/02/367685/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2026/08/02/367685/#>

GAZA, (PIC)

The impact of the brutal Israeli war on Gaza Strip was not limited to
targeting buildings and facilities, but extended to what remained of the
components of the health system, at a time when hospitals face an
unprecedented shortage of medicines and medical supplies.

The occupation army’s bombing of medicine stores in Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Hospital in Deir al-Balah city comes as an expression of its fascism and
criminality during the war of genocide and its efforts to deepen the
tragedy of the health sector, amid continuous warnings of running out of
basic items and the worsening health crisis, threatening the ability of
hospitals to provide the minimum level of care to the sick and wounded.

Destruction of medicine and medical supplies stores

The Palestinian Ministry of Health condemned Israel’s direct and systematic
targeting of medicine and medical consumables stores in Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Hospital in the central Gaza Strip, on Saturday, describing what happened
as a “complex crime.” The ministry explained that the destructive force of
the missiles used led to the complete erasing of two stores out of four at
the targeted site, in addition to causing severe damage to the other two
stores, causing the loss and damage of vital quantities of medicines and
medical supplies designated to serve the sick and wounded. It added that
the bombing caused significant damage to the outpatient clinics building
adjacent to the stores, and also caused a state of panic among patients,
their companions, and medical staff inside the hospital.

The ministry confirmed that Israel is not content with preventing the entry
of medicines and medical supplies and depriving thousands of sick and
wounded from traveling for treatment, but continues to target what remains
of the capabilities of the health system and destroy its limited
capacities, demanding the international community and United Nations and
human rights institutions to urgently intervene to stop the attacks and
provide protection for health institutions and medical crews.

Hospital warns of consequences of losing medical supplies

For his part, the spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Khalil Al-Daqran,
said that the Israeli raid destroyed a warehouse for medical supplies that
included medicines and solutions designated for kidney and intensive care
patients. He explained that the bombing led to the destruction of all
contents of the warehouse, and also damaged the hospital wall and adjacent
buildings, warning that the destruction of medical supplies threatens the
lives of patients in light of the acute shortage of medicines and supplies
resulting from the Israeli siege.

Palestinian condemnations considering the targeting a war crime

The head of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, described the
destruction of the medicine and medical supplies warehouse in Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Hospital as a new war crime added to the record of crimes targeting
civilians and health infrastructure, in violation of international
humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

He stressed that targeting health facilities comes in the context of
continuous bombing of homes and residential neighborhoods, as part of the
policy of collective punishment and creating a worsening humanitarian
disaster. He also called on the US administration and the international
community to take immediate action to stop these crimes, protect civilians,
and work to lift the siege imposed on Gaza Strip.

Repeated warnings of running out of medicines

The targeting of medicine stores came one day after warnings issued by the
Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza Strip, Mounir Al-Bursh,
regarding the rapid deterioration in health conditions, confirming that the
percentage of zero-stock medicines in hospitals and health centers exceeded
53%, amid the continued prevention of the entry of medicines, medical
supplies, fuel, and oils necessary to operate electrical generators.

Al-Bursh pointed out that about 28% of widespread diseases in the Strip
have become linked to contaminated water, as a result of drinking water
mixing with cesspools inside shelter centers, which led to the spread of
diseases and epidemics among the displaced, warning that the deterioration
of environmental and health conditions increases the risks threatening the
lives of the population. On the file of the sick and wounded, he revealed
the death of more than 1,500 patients who held official medical referrals
while waiting to be allowed to leave the Strip to receive treatment,
describing it as a “humanitarian tragedy.”

Health system on the verge of collapse

Medical reports and UN statements follow one another warning of the
collapse of the health system in Gaza Strip, in light of 26 hospitals out
of 38 going out of service, the deficit in basic medicines exceeding 50%,
the shortage of medical consumables reaching 70%, in addition to the
deficit in laboratory tests reaching more than 87%. The World Health
Organization also estimated the damage to the health sector at about 1.4
billion dollars, pointing to the partial or complete destruction of more
than 1,800 health facilities, including hospitals, primary care centers,
clinics, pharmacies, and laboratories.

Targeting worsens the treatment crisis

The targeting of medicine stores in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital comes at a
time when the health system in Gaza Strip suffers from an acute shortage of
medicines and medical supplies, amid the continuation of the siege and the
decline in the ability of hospitals to respond to growing needs. With the
continuation of local and UN warnings of the worsening crisis, concern
increases over the expanding circle of risks threatening the lives of the
sick and wounded, in light of the continued damage to health facilities and
the decline of their operational capabilities.
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