Medical sources in the Gaza Strip warned on Saturday that Palestinians living with thalassemia are facing life‑threatening conditions, as the collapse of medical services under the ongoing Israeli assault has turned their treatment journey into a daily struggle for survival.
In a statement marking World Thalassemia Day (May 8), the sources reported that the severe shortage of specialized medications, the lack of laboratory testing materials, the scarcity of blood units, the destruction of specialized medical centers, and the harsh social and displacement conditions all pose an immediate threat to patients’ lives.
Repeated forced displacement, they added, has further disrupted access to what remains of medical care.
According to the medical data, 50 patients have died out of 334 registered cases, including 47 who died after being forced to leave the Gaza Strip during the Israeli offensive.
The sources noted that 237 thalassemia patients remain in Gaza, including 52 children under the age of 12 and 185 older than 12.
Health officials stressed that the destruction of laboratory infrastructure and the absence of diagnostic equipment needed for preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic testing mean that many cases may now go undiagnosed.
This, they warned, threatens to erase decades of preventive public‑health work and exposes vulnerable patients to potentially fatal complications.
The statement urged international health organizations to prioritize the plight of thalassemia patients in Gaza, who remain trapped under life‑threatening conditions that undermine global efforts to prevent and manage the disease.
