Gaza's Health Sector under Hamas: Incurable Ills?

Author: Haim Malka

In less than three decades Hamas health care activities have transformed dramatically. This transformation in health care has mirrored Hamas's own evolution, albeit incomplete, from a militant organization to a de facto government. In the process the Islamic movement has gone from coordinating dozens of medical clinics and charities in the West Bank and Gaza to managing a multimillion dollar health ministry with thousands of employees and hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries. Once seen as a religious duty and a practical recruiting tool, Hamas' s health care agenda is now one of practical governance and political survival.