350,000 patients deprived of medication amid ongoing Israeli war: Gaza Health Ministry

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least 350,000 chronically ill patients are not receiving their medications due to the ongoing Israeli war since Oct. 7, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said Tuesday.

The spokesperson for the ministry, Ashraf Al-Qudra, warned of serious health complications that may worsen the patients' conditions, calling on the international organizations to urgently provide medications.

Al-Qudra had previously announced the depletion of the anesthesia nitrous oxide gas in operating rooms along with severe shortage of other medical gases.

Palestinian and international health and human rights organizations had warned of the collapse of the faltering healthcare system in Gaza due to the ongoing war.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 24,285 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 61,154 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio