Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the healthcare system in Gaza remains in a state of crisis. Many of the territory’s hospitals and clinics are not functioning, and supplies of reagents and other diagnostic and therapeutic provisions are severely limited. Meanwhile, the population needs basic infrastructure such as shelter and sanitation, and disease outbreaks are common. While recognizing the urgency of the situation, European medical organizations have confronted Israeli government restrictions that hamper the delivery of aid.

Since the war began in October 2023, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 500 aid workers and 1700 healthcare workers. Due to continuing Israeli incursions, almost 600 people have been killed since the ceasefire was signed.

The healthcare needs of Gaza are enormous. More than 18,500 patients in Gaza, including 4000 children, remain in urgent need of medical care abroad, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). At least 28,000 assistive products (including 18,500 wheelchairs) are needed. Despite improved food deliveries, more than 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to develop acute malnutrition through April 2026. More than 1.47 million cases of acute respiratory infections and more than 670,000 cases of acute diarrheal diseases have been reported. An estimated 1 million people need mental health and psychosocial support.

In a recent statement, the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) repeated its concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need for unfettered access to humanitarian workers, healthcare, and aid.

“As we are entering into the second phase of the peace plan, we urge for progress at managing governance, security, and humanitarian aid distribution,” CPME President Ole Johan Bakke, MD, told Medscape News Europe. “A primary goal of this phase is to allow for the increased, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid.”

Hospital Expansion Efforts Ongoing

The WHO is the main provider of medicines and medical supplies in Gaza. While the volume of supplies entering Gaza has improved, extensive clearance procedures continue to delay the delivery of essential supplies, a WHO spokesperson told Medscape News Europe.

“To expedite access to lifesaving care, WHO continues to call for the immediate reopening of the medical referral route to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” the spokesperson said. To save lives, WHO urged more countries to accept patients in need of specialized care not available in Gaza.

Only half of Gaza’s hospitals are partially functional, and 48% of primary healthcare centers remain operational, the WHO spokesperson added. Twelve field hospitals are operating across Gaza. Throughout January, 170,000 consultations were provided each week.

Hospital expansion efforts continued between October 2025 and January 2026. The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis increased its capacity by 140 beds for specialized surgeries and rehabilitation, while Al-Awda Hospital in Deir al Balah established a neonatal intensive care unit with five incubators, according to the WHO. The emergency department and triage area of the Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis have been expanded, and the hospital has begun providing inpatient and outpatient ophthalmology services. Following the launch of the limb reconstruction screening program at Nasser Medical Complex on January 7, 120 patients have been screened so far.

Aid Organizations’ Licenses Withdrawn

On January 1, Israel withdrew the licenses of 37 aid organizations, which could force them to end their operations in the region by March. This action followed the imposition of new requirements that international organizations share personal information about their Palestinian staff to become registered.

Israel’s deregistration of humanitarian agencies constitutes a violation of its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, a spokesperson for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), which is based in London, England, told Medscape News Europe. Israel is required to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance, according to the organization. Despite the ceasefire, many imports of medical and humanitarian supplies by international NGOs have been blocked, and MAP is unable to send new shipments or deploy international staff or volunteers into Gaza.

MAP has been supporting hospitals, the reopening of health facilities, and delivering emergency care, clean water, and essential supplies to displaced families throughout Gaza. Its clinic in central Gaza treats more than 500 people every day, while it continues to repair hospital surgical units, wards, and warehouses across Gaza.

“The unmet medical needs of the population in Gaza are immense,” the spokesperson added, claiming that with crossings closed and aid restricted by Israel, patients have been trapped without care. “Every day of delay means children dying of hypothermia because of a lack of adequate shelter, patients denied lifesaving treatment, and hospitals pushed closer to collapse.”

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Efforts in Jeopardy

The Switzerland-based MSF also has had its registration revoked. While the organization is permitted to work in Palestine until March 1, it is unclear what the future will hold.

“Currently, MSF supports 1 in 5 of Gaza’s hospital beds and assists 1 in 3 mothers during childbirth. The support we provide is nowhere enough to meet the needs of Palestinians, yet removing it will have a terrible cost,” MSF said in a statement.

For Mehdi El Melal, MD, French emergency room doctor who has worked in Gaza and the West Bank, losing an organization like MSF would be devastating. “When you lose the biggest NGO working in Gaza, you’re losing more than 60% of humanitarian help,” he told Medscape News Europe.

Melal spent 3 weeks in Gaza in 2024 on a mission organized by the Al-Rahma and PalMed Europe organizations. He’s since been on two missions to the West Bank for the French organization MEHAD. What he saw in Gaza was unlike anything else he’d witnessed before: from traumatic injuries caused by falling buildings to bullet wounds and critical head trauma. “We have been trained for these situations in Europe, but only in a theoretical way. We are not used to seeing such injuries in Europe,” he said.

“The most challenging aspect was to be focused on the work and to not get involved in an emotional way. But when you see injured children, mothers, and pregnant women, these are the things that take you out of being a doctor and into being a human. I didn’t feel like I was not as well trained as I wanted to be, but I felt like I had a lack of psychological preparation.”

European doctors have a duty to speak out, said Melal. The emergency department is no different in Gaza, France, Libya, or Haiti, he added. “Whether you work in France or Gaza, we had the same problems before the war. It’s what connects us. We don’t have to see Gaza as a situation that is far from what we live in Europe. We are all colleagues.”

“What I want is for doctors and other health workers to be [involved] in what’s happening in Gaza, not on a political level, but as health workers,” Melal said. “We’re working the same way, we’re tired and stressed, and this is what ultimately connects us. It has to touch us.”

Bakke and Melal reported having no relevant financial relationships.