The United Nations warned that Gaza’s health system is operating under “extreme and unsustainable pressure,” as continued Israeli attacks, the collapse of basic services, and severe restrictions on medical supplies push hospitals toward full shutdown.
UN agencies stressed that the urgent entry of fuel, equipment, and maintenance materials is essential to prevent the failure of life‑saving machines across the Strip.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update that the World Health Organization (WHO) documented 22 attacks on healthcare in Gaza during the recent reporting period.
These attacks caused casualties, damaged medical facilities, and disrupted the movement of ambulances and medical teams, further degrading the already devastated health sector.
Humanitarian partners also reported that access to water remains critically limited, with three out of four families relying on trucked water as their only source.
Approximately 24,000 cubic meters are delivered daily through nearly 2,000 distribution points, but these operations depend entirely on generators and machinery that are at risk of failure due to the severe shortage of repair parts and maintenance supplies.
WHO added that in the first four months of this year, more than one‑third of patient permit requests for treatment in East Jerusalem or inside Israel were denied or delayed.
Approval rates remain far below pre‑October 2023 levels, when more than two‑thirds of applications were approved.
The decline leaves thousands of patients — including cancer patients, cardiac cases, and children requiring specialized care — without access to treatment unavailable inside Gaza.
UN agencies warned that without immediate, unhindered entry of medical supplies, fuel, and technical equipment, Gaza’s remaining hospitals — already operating at a fraction of their capacity — face imminent shutdown.
On Thursday, Israeli occupation forces killed six Palestinians and injured dozens more in multiple attacks across the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, including drone fire, shelling of tents sheltering displaced families, and live ammunition targeting civilians in Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir al‑Balah, and Beit Lahia.
Since the declared “ceasefire” on October 11, 2025, the total number of Palestinians killed has risen to 883, with 2,648 injured and 776 bodies recovered from destroyed areas. Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the cumulative toll has reached 72,775 killed and 172,750 injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza (21 May 2026).
