19 August 2026
Press Release
Al-Dameer: Shortage of Medical Supplies, Particularly Medical Gauze, Threatens the Safety and Lives of Patients in the Gaza Strip
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights–Gaza, in light of the continued deterioration of the health sector system and the ongoing acute shortage of essential medical supplies and consumables in the Gaza Strip, foremost among them medical gauze, and the difficulty of bringing medical needs into the Strip, which threatens the ability of hospitals and health facilities to provide regular health services and exposes patients and wounded persons to direct risks to their lives, thereby undermining the right to treatment.
According to information available to Al-Dameer Association, the list of medical supplies and consumables relied upon by the Ministry of Health includes more than 1,006 items used in providing seven central services within hospitals. More than 58% of these items have a 0% availability rate, while the shortage affects approximately 21% of the consumables used in emergency services and more than 33% of consumables related to surgery and intensive care. It has also been indicated that approximately 69% of supplies related to kidney services are unavailable, as well as 61% of supplies for cancer patients, reflecting the widening scope of the crisis and its impact on essential health services.
Medical gauze is also one of the essential items used in surgical operations, emergencies, wound treatment, and wound-dressing clinics. The stock of different types of gauze in the central warehouses of the Ministry of Health, despite rationalizing its use, is sufficient for only approximately one to three weeks. This quantity does not correspond to the actual needs of the health sector. The crisis is not only related to a limited shortage in the quantity of gauze, but also to the diversity of its types, specifications, and medical uses, as one type cannot always be replaced by another without affecting the quality of service and patient safety. Among the necessary types is surgical gauze equipped with a radiopaque marker, which is used inside operating rooms and helps detect it if it is accidentally left inside the patient’s body.
According to testimonies, the available stock of sterile medical gauze in some hospitals is sufficient only until the end of the week, which warns of an actual crisis at the beginning of next week if new supplies do not urgently arrive. Sterile gauze is also primarily used in surgical operations, the treatment of wounds and burns, and changing dressings. Its continued shortage may threaten the continuity of work in some medical and surgical departments and increase the risks of infections and wound contamination, particularly among patients with chronic wounds and diabetic foot. Resorting to sterilizing ordinary gauze inside hospitals represents a forced measure to address the crisis and cannot be considered a safe alternative to ready-to-use sterile medical gauze, given the limited capacities and the significant pressure faced by hospitals.
Al-Dameer Association considers that the resorting of the Ministry of Health and medical facilities to rationalizing the use of gauze and medical supplies does not constitute a solution to the crisis, but rather an emergency measure to extend the period of benefit from the remaining stock and prevent it from reaching zero. The fact that some patients and their families are forced to purchase gauze and supplies from outside health facilities in order to receive dressing services or complete treatment adds a new burden on families, amid the difficult humanitarian and economic conditions experienced by residents of the Gaza Strip.
The Association warns that the continued shortage may directly affect the quality of health care, including emergency services, surgery, wound-dressing clinics, and primary health care, and may push medical teams to use quantities below the normal need or resort to less appropriate alternatives. This may increase the difficulty of medical procedures and the risks of infection and complications, and undermine patients’ right to receive safe and appropriate health care.
Al-Dameer affirms that restricting the entry of medical consumables and supplies into the Gaza Strip constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and is contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which obliges the occupying power to ensure and provide the necessary medical supplies for the civilian population, and to take the necessary measures to preserve medical and health services and hospitals and ensure their functioning. These acts also fall within war crimes or crimes against humanity stipulated in the Rome Statute, particularly acts that cause severe suffering or serious injury to health, or preventable deaths. Accordingly, Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights demands:
– Urgent international intervention, particularly by the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, to pressure the occupation authorities to ensure the immediate, regular, and uninterrupted entry of essential medical supplies into the Gaza Strip, particularly gauze, dressings, sterilizing materials, surgical supplies, and burn treatment materials.
– Enable humanitarian and medical organizations to bring in and distribute medical supplies and consumables regularly and safely, according to the actual volume of needs of the health sector, in a manner that prevents the current shortage from turning into a complete collapse of medical stocks.
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights – Gaza