By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News): Seven Palestinians were killed on Sunday when an Israeli drone struck the courtyard of al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City. In the 24 hours after the strike, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported 47 more bodies brought to hospitals and 226 injured, adding to the total number of casualties since October 2023 – At least 61,944 Palestinians have been killed, 155,886 injured in Israel’s indiscriminate bombings on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.
This attack illustrates the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. By May, the WHO reported 94% of hospitals in the Strip had been damaged or destroyed. Critical facilities, including one hospital, several clinics, and medical points, lie within evacuation or high-risk zones. From October 2023 to May 2025, the WHO documented 1,280 attacks on healthcare services, causing widespread injuries and leaving medical infrastructure in ruins.
Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, now faces severe shortages of medicines, equipment, and staff. No public hospitals in the city are fully operational; across the Strip, only half of the hospitals and a third of primary care centres are even partially functional. Bed occupancy has soared by 240% at al-Shifa and 300% at al-Ahli. Al-Shifa’s Director, Dr Mohamad Abu Sulmeyeh, described children with paralysis at fatal risk and a surge in untreated cases.
WHO’s Dr Rik Peeperkorn called the situation “catastrophic,” citing barriers to essential aid.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported a threefold surge in injuries from Israeli fire since late May. MSF deputy medical coordinator Mohammed Abu Mughaisib described food distribution centres as “areas of death,” where civilians often perish before reaching hospitals. Between May 27 and now, nearly 1,924 people have been killed and over 14,000 injured while awaiting aid.
The strain on Gaza’s healthcare system has hit children hardest, pushing many to the brink of famine and disease. Nine-year-old Maryam Dawas is a stark example of the human cost. Once weighing 25 kg (3 st 9 lb), she now weighs just 9 kg (1 st 4 lb)—about the weight of a one-year-old. Her medical records show severe protein-energy malnutrition, functional diarrhoea, and intestinal malabsorption. When asked about her dream, she whispered, “To go back to the way I was.”
Maryam’s mother said, “Maryam suffered from malnutrition ever since we were displaced from the north to Rafah… but it’s never been worse than the famine we face now.”
In July alone, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded nearly 13,000 new child admissions for acute malnutrition. The Gaza Health Ministry lists 251 deaths from famine and malnutrition, including 108 children.
Israel’s COGAT claims that Hamas inflates these figures, arguing that most children who died had pre-existing conditions. Independent experts and humanitarian organisations paint a different picture: of 74 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza in 2025, 63 occurred in July, including 24 children under five, many declared dead on arrival at hospitals. The WHO emphasizes that these deaths are preventable if large-scale humanitarian aid is permitted to flow through.
The collapse of healthcare is closely linked to a worsening food crisis. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 81% of households reported poor food consumption in July, up from 33% in April. Very severe hunger affected 24% of households, compared with just 4% in April. Nearly nine in ten households relied on “extremely severe coping mechanisms.” Israel’s total blockade from March 2 to May 19, combined with almost two decades of war and a partial blockade since 2007, has left the population highly vulnerable.
Palestinians attacked by illegal settlers, Israeli army looks on
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza contrasts sharply with escalating unrest across the occupied West Bank. Palestinians there face growing military raids and settler violence.
On Sunday, the Israeli army detained at least 19 Palestinians—six in Nablus, nine in Bethlehem, and Nablus (including six from the same family), and four in Hebron and Ramallah. Since the Gaza war began, more than 18,000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank.
Illegal settlers attacked vehicles, damaged water pipes, and vandalised farmlands in Ramallah and Jericho. In July alone, 466 attacks killed four Palestinians and displaced two Bedouin communities, affecting 50 families. Since October 2023, at least 1,014 Palestinians have died and over 7,000 have been injured in the West Bank, showing that the conflict’s toll extends beyond Gaza.
[Photo: Relatives of the Palestinians killed by Israeli army waiting for humanitarian aid in Zikim area mourn as the dead bodies were taken from the al-Shifa Hospital for burial in Gaza City, Gaza on August 18, 2025. Photojournalist: Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/AA]
