Attachments
Overview
In September 2024, the situation in the Gaza Strip remained tense, particularly in areas such as East Khan Younis, the Middle Area, and West Rafah. Despite these challenges, all health partners in Gaza remain dedicated to tackling the humanitarian crisis through effective healthcare delivery, with a specific emphasis on responding to mass casualties and urgent medical needs. There are currently 70 active partners operating within the Gaza Strip, with 63 of them being health organizations focused on direct response efforts, and 33 offering indirect assistance. In September, 44 of these health partners provided primary and secondary healthcare services to a total of 1,084,200 beneficiaries.
The increasing needs in Gaza are accompanied by rising challenges. Access constraints between the South and North have hampered the delivery of essential medicines, medical supplies, and fuel to healthcare facilities. Numerous missions aimed at delivering these crucial resources to the North have faced obstructions or delays, putting tremendous strain on healthcare workers and leading to the closure of critical departments, including intensive care units (ICUs) and hemodialysis units. Efforts are being made to expand hospital bed capacity in the southern region, notably at Nasser Hospital and the European Gaza Hospital. Additionally, progress is being made towards integrating inpatient mental health care in southern Gaza. Despite these efforts, hospital occupancy rates continue to climb due to an increase in trauma cases and deteriorating conditions of non-communicable disease (NCD) patients.
Medical evacuations have been stopped since the Rafah crossing was closed. Nonetheless, some ad hoc evacuations occurred in September, allowing 104 patients to be transferred from Gaza to the UAE and Romania. The backlog of patients requiring medical evacuation is increasing, with around 14,000 patients now on the Medical referral list.
In addition, 2,800 units of blood were delivered to Gaza from the West Bank. The demand for blood remains high; before the conflict, approximately 3,000 units were used daily across the Gaza Strip, and with the ongoing conflict, the need continues to rise as more trauma-related patients seek care.
Furthermore, the entry of medical supplies into Gaza has faced considerable challenges. Restrictions on vital medical equipment, medications, and supplies have greatly hindered health partners' ability to adequately address the healthcare needs of the population.