The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza announced that nearly half of the kidney dialysis machines at Shifa Hospital have stopped due to a shortage of medical supplies caused by the Israeli blockade, and patients are in life-threatening danger.
Gazi al-Yazici, head of the Artificial Kidney Department at Shifa Medical Complex, stated that the dialysis unit is facing a serious crisis. Yazici said, "The dialysis department is experiencing a severe crisis as many machines have gone out of service due to the lack of sodium bicarbonate, which is required for the machines to operate."
Yazici conveyed that 25 machines have recently become unusable, and only 26 machines can partially operate. Shifa Hospital is located in western Gaza and is the only center providing dialysis services in the city.
According to data published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in June, other centers providing dialysis services across Gaza are limited to Nasser Hospital in the south, Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central area, and the Zawayda field unit.
Session durations and frequencies reduced
As the crisis grew, health teams had to take emergency measures. The dialysis session duration was reduced from 4 hours to 3 hours, and the weekly number of sessions was also cut from 3 to 2.
Yazici emphasized that this reduction in session duration and frequency negatively affects patients' conditions and increases the risk level. The official warned that this shortage would directly endanger the lives of kidney failure patients.
Stating that the measures taken have led to the deterioration of the health condition of approximately 240 patients with stage 5 chronic kidney failure, Yazici said that this deterioration is accompanied by an increased risk of cardiac and respiratory complications, which could result in death in some cases.
Health system facing collapse
The health sector in Gaza is collapsing under Israel's devastating attacks and tight blockade. Hospitals and health infrastructure have suffered extensive damage, while shortages of medicine, fuel, and medical supplies have reached critical levels.
This crisis is deepening as Israel fails to fulfill its commitments under the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect since October 10, 2025, regarding the entry of food, humanitarian aid, and medical supplies.
With U.S. support, Israel launched attacks on October 8, 2023, and continued them in various forms for two years, resulting in the deaths of over 73,000 Palestinians, injuries to more than 173,000 people, and the destruction of 90% of civilian infrastructure. The United Nations estimates the reconstruction cost at approximately $70 billion.
