Israeli Restrictions and Gaza Crossing Closures Deepen Medical Equipment Shortage Crisis
44
The shortage of medical equipment in Gaza’s hospitals is worsening, with a severe lack of equipment and spare parts, and a ban on the entry of new devices due to the tight Israeli blockade.
According to an Al Jazeera report, the breakdown of diagnostic equipment has led to a decline in hospitals’ ability to accurately diagnose illnesses. One patient described his ordeal in searching for a CT scanner after doctors advised him to go to Hamad Hospital, where he faced extreme difficulty in obtaining an appointment.
Doctors are facing a difficult dilemma with their patients, given the lack of necessary resources for examination and treatment, after the Israeli occupation forces destroyed vital equipment during their raid on Al-Shifa Hospital and several other health facilities.
Medical equipment engineers are working to repair and reactivate some devices using parts salvaged from other damaged ones, in an attempt to address this shortage.
