Gaza's Palestinian Health Ministry announced that about half of the kidney dialysis machines at Shifa Hospital have stopped operating due to a shortage of medical supplies caused by the Israeli blockade, placing patients in life-threatening danger.
Dr. Gazi al-Yazici, head of the Artificial Kidney Department at the Shifa Medical Complex, said the dialysis unit is facing a serious crisis. "The dialysis department is experiencing a severe crisis as many machines have been taken out of service due to a lack of sodium bicarbonate, which is necessary for the machines to function," Yazici said.
Yazici reported that 25 machines have recently become unusable, and only 26 machines can partially operate. Shifa Hospital is located in the west of Gaza and is the only center providing dialysis services in the city.
According to data published in June by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), other centers providing dialysis services across Gaza are limited to the Nasr Hospital in the south, the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central region, and the Zawayide field unit.
Session durations and numbers reduced
As the crisis grew, medical teams were forced to take emergency measures. Dialysis session duration was reduced from 4 hours to 3 hours, and the number of weekly sessions was reduced from 3 to 2.
Yazici emphasized that this reduction in session duration and number has negatively affected patients' conditions and increased the risk level. The official warned that this shortage directly endangers 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 this deterioration is accompanied by an increased risk of cardiac and respiratory complications, which could be fatal in some cases.
Health system facing collapse
Gaza's health sector is collapsing under Israel's destructive attacks and tight blockade. Hospitals and health infrastructure have been heavily damaged, while shortages of medicine, fuel and medical supplies have reached critical levels.
This crisis is deepening as Israel fails to fulfill its commitments regarding the entry of food, humanitarian aid and medical supplies under the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect since October 10, 2025.
Israel, with U.S. support, launched attacks on October 8, 2023, which it continued in various forms for two years, causing the deaths of over 73,000 Palestinians, the injury of over 173,000 people, and the destruction of 90 percent of civilian infrastructure. The United Nations estimates the reconstruction cost at approximately $70 billion.
