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// DOSSIER — gaza-healthcare-stalls-one-year-ceasefire
Gaza Healthcare Stalls One Year Into Ceasefire Despite Fragile Nutrition Improvements
REL_TIME: 10 Oct 2026 07:13Z · LANG: EN
One year after the October 2025 ceasefire, Gaza's healthcare system remains on the brink of collapse with zero fully functioning hospitals out of 36, despite minor expansions in partially functioning facilities and localized reductions in acute malnutrition. Human rights organizations and health officials report that ongoing Israeli restrictions on dual-use medical supplies, patient evacuations, and hospital transfers to the West Bank continue to cause avoidable deaths. While nutrition indicators for young children and mothers showed notable improvements following increased humanitarian aid access, aid agencies warn that up to 90 percent of Gaza's population faces severe food insecurity if assistance declines.
// Background
Following the October 2023 outbreak of war, Gaza's medical infrastructure suffered widespread destruction and severe supply blockades. A ceasefire agreement took effect in October 2025, which was intended to facilitate humanitarian relief, medical evacuations, and civil infrastructure recovery. However, key restrictions on cross-border logistics, dual-use equipment classification, and patient travel permits have remained largely intact throughout 2026.
// Key Developments
- Gaza contains zero fully functioning hospitals out of 36 nearly one year into the ceasefire, with intensive care capacity increasing by only one bed.
- According to COGAT figures cited by PHRI, 69 percent of health products approved for entry between January and May 2026 failed to enter Gaza.
- Child acute malnutrition under age five fell from 16.8 percent in July 2025 to 8.4 percent in July 2026 following increased food and counseling access.
- At least 1,570 patients died awaiting medical evacuation between October 2023 and July 2026, including 505 cancer patients and 264 children.
- Critical medical deficits persist across Gaza, including a 56 percent shortage in maternal and child health drugs and a 46 percent shortage in kidney disease treatments.
// Timeline
-
Outbreak of the Gaza war leading to heavy damage across medical facilities and supply lines.
-
Ceasefire agreement takes effect between Hamas and Israel.
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Child acute malnutrition drops to 8.4%; Israel's High Court declines to overturn the blanket ban on medical transfers to West Bank hospitals.
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Total medical evacuations abroad reach approximately 5,700 patients since the ceasefire began, far below pre-war rates.
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Rights organizations and health bodies publish reports marking one year since the ceasefire, citing stalled medical recovery alongside fragile nutrition gains.
// Perspectives
[Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)]
Accuses Israel of deliberately maintaining conditions that destroy Gaza's population by restricting medical shipments, blocking West Bank hospital transfers, and delaying infrastructure reconstruction.
[World Health Organization (WHO)]
Urges Israeli authorities to release pressure on medical deliveries and remove dual-use classifications on essential medicines to avoid devastating patient outcomes.
[Gaza Health Ministry]
Warns that Gaza hospitals operate under constant depletion, cautioning that missing individual surgical or diagnostic items disrupts entire treatment chains.
[MedGlobal]
Reports measurable progress in lowering malnutrition rates through humanitarian intervention, but stresses that progress remains vulnerable without sustained long-term access.
// Quotes
“A year of 'ceasefire' should have brought meaningful relief and rehabilitation to Palestinians and allowed the recovery and reconstruction of the decimated healthcare system. Instead, the healthcare system remains devastated...”
“A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters.”
“Acute malnutrition among children was cut in half... That is not a miracle. It is what happens when treatment, food, counseling and access reach families. The gains are real, and they are reversible.”
