Al-Shifa Hospital Chief Sounds Alarm Over Escalating Gaza Humanitarian and Health Crisis

Al-Shifa Medical Complex director Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya warned on Wednesday that roughly 1.6 million residents of the Gaza Strip face imminent famine and malnutrition as the humanitarian situation deteriorates.

In his radio comments, he noted that the vulnerable group comprises about 74,000 children experiencing various levels of malnutrition and 25,000 pregnant women at risk of severe anemia, adding that worsening conditions are intensifying pressure on Gaza’s health infrastructure.

He explained that rising malnutrition and infectious disease rates, coupled with medicine and supply shortages and severe transport limitations, are driving Gaza toward what he called an outright health and humanitarian collapse.

He said hospitals still admit dozens of casualties daily, many with complex injuries needing specialized surgery, noting that some wounded children have undergone amputations and that barriers to importing essential medicines and supplies have hampered care.

He also reported that roughly 70 percent of Gaza’s ambulances are non‑operational due to shortages of tires, spare parts, and lubricants, warning that this could cripple the movement of patients, medical staff, and the deceased across the territory.

He added that about 4,000 cancer patients cannot access chemotherapy, with medical teams recording four to five deaths each day among this group.

Furthermore, he said shortages of hormones and other vital medicines are impairing kidney dialysis care, and a lack of insulin pens for diabetic children has led to a rise in intensive‑care admissions due to complications.

He urged urgent international action to enable the flow of medical and humanitarian aid through Gaza’s border crossings, stressing that health workers are increasingly unable to deliver life‑saving treatment.

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