Letter to the editor
Pietro De Luca1
1Neuromotor Physiology Laboratory, IRCSS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy (Correspondence to Pietro De Luca:
Keywords: health system, health emergency, health care provider, conflict, Gaza
Citation: De Luca P. Gaza’s collapsed health system requires urgent action from the global health community. East Mediterr Health J. 2025;31(11):657. https://doi.org/10.26719/2025.31.11.657.
Received: 12/08/2025; Accepted: 06/10/2025
Copyright © Authors 2025; Licensee: World Health Organization. EMHJ is an open- access journal. This paper is available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).
Dear Editor,
For more than 22 months, the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip endured catastrophic conditions, resulting in extremely poor living standards and the near-total destruction of its healthcare infrastructure (1). More than 58 000 civilians have been killed since the onset of the current hostilities in October 2023, among whom are 17 900 children and 9500 women (1,2). Over 139 600 individuals have been injured, while approximately 10 children per day undergo at least one limb amputation. Widespread destruction has placed more than 470 000 civilians at risk of malnutrition, with at least 85 children and infants already dead due to starvation (1).
In this context, Gaza’s health system has been pushed beyond imaginable limits. As of July 2025, WHO reported that all, except 2, hospitals in the Strip had been damaged, destroyed or non-functional (3). Cancer care is no longer available anywhere in the territory (4), and primary health care services have largely collapsed, leaving the population without access to basic preventive and chronic disease care.
The sacrifice of health care professionals in Gaza is unprecedented. At least 654 have been killed while fulfilling their duty. In a single strike in March 2025, 15 medics were killed—an event captured in a video clip by the sole survivor (2). This tragic event exemplifies a broader and systemic violation of medical neutrality, underscoring the urgent need for international accountability.
This letter is not intended to debate the political roots of the conflict. In the face of such profound human suffering, these become secondary. What must be urgently addressed is the lack of a unified and firm response by the global health community. As physicians and health professionals, what are we doing—beyond our individual sentiments—to collectively stand for our colleagues under fire? Where is the global health movement that upholds the right to practice medicine, rooted in the Hippocratic Oath, even in times of war?
We are failing—not merely as institutions, but as a profession—to protect our own. We are failing to speak out effectively against the continuous targeting of health workers, and by extension, the civilians they care for. Targeted actions are urgently needed, including joint statements from international professional bodies, advocacy for humanitarian corridors and the establishment of task forces to support health care delivery in the Gaza Strip.
We must use the platform of journals such as EMHJ and other related publications to call for the protection of health workers and the defence of human life, the first and ultimate duty of our profession. Publications such as EMHJ can also play a leading role by supporting and publishing relevant documents, organizing aid initiatives and calling for accountability.Dear Editor,
For more than 22 months, the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip endured catastrophic conditions, resulting in extremely poor living standards and the near-total destruction of its healthcare infrastructure (1). More than 58 000 civilians have been killed since the onset of the current hostilities in October 2023, among whom are 17 900 children and 9500 women (1,2). Over 139 600 individuals have been injured, while approximately 10 children per day undergo at least one limb amputation. Widespread destruction has placed more than 470 000 civilians at risk of malnutrition, with at least 85 children and infants already dead due to starvation (1).
In this context, Gaza’s health system has been pushed beyond imaginable limits. As of July 2025, WHO reported that all, except 2, hospitals in the Strip had been damaged, destroyed or non-functional (3). Cancer care is no longer available anywhere in the territory (4), and primary health care services have largely collapsed, leaving the population without access to basic preventive and chronic disease care.
The sacrifice of health care professionals in Gaza is unprecedented. At least 654 have been killed while fulfilling their duty. In a single strike in March 2025, 15 medics were killed—an event captured in a video clip by the sole survivor (2). This tragic event exemplifies a broader and systemic violation of medical neutrality, underscoring the urgent need for international accountability.
This letter is not intended to debate the political roots of the conflict. In the face of such profound human suffering, these become secondary. What must be urgently addressed is the lack of a unified and firm response by the global health community. As physicians and health professionals, what are we doing—beyond our individual sentiments—to collectively stand for our colleagues under fire? Where is the global health movement that upholds the right to practice medicine, rooted in the Hippocratic Oath, even in times of war?
We are failing—not merely as institutions, but as a profession—to protect our own. We are failing to speak out effectively against the continuous targeting of health workers, and by extension, the civilians they care for. Targeted actions are urgently needed, including joint statements from international professional bodies, advocacy for humanitarian corridors and the establishment of task forces to support health care delivery in the Gaza Strip.
We must use the platform of journals such as EMHJ and other related publications to call for the protection of health workers and the defence of human life, the first and ultimate duty of our profession. Publications such as EMHJ can also play a leading role by supporting and publishing relevant documents, organizing aid initiatives and calling for accountability.
References
- Balkhy HH, Ghebreyesus TA. A roadmap for healing Gaza’s battered health system. East Mediterr Health J. 2024;31(2):54–55. https://doi.org/10.26719/2025.31.2.54.
- Graham-Harrison E, Tantesh MA. Famine in Gaza: Israel war fuels starvation and hunger. The Guardian, 29 July 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/29/famine-gaza-israel-war-starvation-hunger.
- International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Israel and the Occupied Territories: ICRC President calls for urgent collective action by states to end suffering. Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, 2025. https://www.icrc.org/en/statement/israel-and-occupied-territories-icrc-president-calls-urgent-collective-action-states-end-suffering.
- World Health Organization. HeRAMS occupied Palestinian territory: Gaza. Infographics, July 2025. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/emergencies/herams/herams_opt_gaza_infographics_2025-07_en.pdf?sfvrsn=3fbf4f9e_3&download=true.
- World Health Organization. Malnutrition rates reach alarming levels in Gaza – WHO warns. News, 27 July 2025. https://www.who.int/news/item/27-07-2025-malnutrition-rates-reach-alarming-levels-in-gaza--who-warns.
