More than 400 patients with kidney disease have died in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, due to severe shortages of treatment and essential medications, Palestinian medical officials said on Wednesday.
The deaths represent approximately 42 percent of the total number of renal patients in the coastal enclave, the officials told reporters at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
About 11 patients requiring dialysis have died since March, as the health system continues to collapse under the pressure of ongoing Israeli attacks and a dire lack of medical supplies, according to the officials.
Abdullah al-Qishawi, head of the nephrology department at Al-Shifa Hospital, said that about 1,100 patients with kidney disease received dialysis treatment before the conflict. Out of them, around 416 have died.
He said dialysis sessions have been reduced from three to two per week per patient. “However, this solution cannot be sustained for long,” he warned, citing the risk of toxin accumulation in patients’ bodies.
Hospitals across the Gaza Strip are under mounting pressure amid a surge in the number of wounded people and the ongoing displacement of residents from border areas to central and western parts of the enclave, he noted.
Munir Al-Bursh, director general of the health authorities in Gaza, said the situation is deteriorating rapidly, with the lives of hundreds of patients under threat due to a lack of dialysis machines and essential materials.
“The health disaster facing kidney patients is worsening daily,” Al-Bursh said, adding that the continued blockade and the ban on the entry of life-saving medications have severely impacted both regular and chronic kidney patients.
He noted that medical facilities are no longer able to meet minimum treatment requirements as stocks of vital medications, filters, and sterilization materials are depleted.
Source: Xinhua
