GAZA, (PIC)
In light of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip for more than 30 months, heart patients no longer face only their illness, but also face a collapsed health system that is almost unable to keep them alive. The wide destruction of medical infrastructure, alongside the acute shortage of medicines and equipment, has turned chronic diseases into daily fatal threats.
Illness, blockade, and collapse of treatment
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are witnessing overcrowding with cases of heart patients, at a time when these facilities suffer from an acute inability to provide the minimum level of care. With vital devices malfunctioning and basic medicines running out, the lives of thousands of patients have become dependent on emergency medical decisions, which are not based on efficiency as much as they are subject to the scarcity of resources.
Mohammed Miqdad, 66, one of these patients, has been in Nasser Hospital for two months, unable to leave. He needs a pacemaker that is unavailable, while his condition worsens with every passing day. He suffers from frequent fainting spells and a sharp drop in pulse, in a scene that summarizes a distressed medical reality: “My life is threatened and there is no solution,” he says clearly, reflecting the blocked horizon.
As for Fatima al-Farra, 67, she embodies another model of patient suffering, as she suffers from chronic blood pressure that led to serious complications, most notably fluid reflux into the lungs and the risk of strokes. After a previous catheterization procedure, she was supposed to adhere to a specific treatment, but its absence led to the narrowing of the stent, which brought her back to the point of danger. She says, “I feel the end is near,” in a shocking expression of loss of confidence in survival.
Sharp decline in specialized services
The crisis does not stop at the shortage of medicines, but extends to the collapse of specialized services. The head of the cardiology department at Nasser Medical Hospital, Dr. Ashraf Helles, confirms that the health sector has lost its ability to deal with heart diseases almost completely.
Before the aggression, between five to eight catheterization operations were performed daily in several medical centers, but today the number has dropped to its minimum, with very limited operations performed only for critical cases, according to a harsh prioritization system that determines who gets the chance for treatment and who is left to their fate. Helles points out that about 80% of scheduled operations have stopped, as a result of the lack of medical stents and balloons, which sometimes forces doctors to end procedures without completing the necessary treatment, which directly threatens the lives of patients.
Broken devices and almost absent diagnosis
The situation is no less bad at the level of diagnosis. ECG machines are completely unavailable, while Echo machines suffer from shortages or frequent breakdowns. This shortage limits the ability of doctors to follow cases accurately, leading to delayed diagnosis and worsening complications. With the absence of capabilities, medical decisions become closer to crisis management than disease treatment, as doctors are forced to deal with cases within narrow limits, imposed by the lack of resources, not medical standards.
Travel restrictions: A sentence of delayed death
In cases that require treatment outside the Strip, patients clash with another obstacle represented by the restrictions imposed on travel. Many lose their lives while waiting for permits, at a time when medical referrals turn into a race against time.
The data indicates the martyrdom of hundreds of patients and wounded while waiting for an opportunity for treatment outside Gaza, which clearly reflects the impact of restrictions imposed on the right to life. According to the Ministry of Health, heart diseases constitute about 56% of total deaths in the Gaza Strip, a percentage that is likely to rise in light of current conditions. Also, about 20,000 patients face real difficulties in accessing treatment, while the health system continues to deteriorate.
Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have carried out a systematic targeting of the health system in the Gaza Strip through destruction, bombing, and killing, which led to its almost complete collapse, where medical teams work in catastrophic conditions to provide health services.
