Gaza’s Health System in Ruins: Long-Term Consequences Threaten Palestinian Lives

For over 21 months, Gaza’s healthcare system has been systematically dismantled. Repeated airstrikes have repeatedly targeted hospitals, while policies have restricted access to vital fuel, water, and medical supplies. Israeli forces have obstructed evacuation routes and have detained or killed more than 1,800 healthcare workers. This sustained assault has crippled critical services including trauma care, cancer treatment, maternity care, and dialysis, effectively dismantling the public health infrastructure. Consequently, Palestinians have lost access to even the most fundamental medical services: routine immunizations have nearly vanished, infectious diseases have spread without control, and preventive healthcare has been eliminated.

There has been intense discussion around whether these actions amount to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Some question if genocide would manifest differently — more rapidly, overtly, or on a larger scale. However, the evidence suggests a more gradual, insidious form of destruction.

An organization dedicated to advocating for the right to health in the region has concluded that the systematic destruction of Gaza’s medical system constitutes genocide, albeit unfolding over an extended timeframe rather than through direct mass killings. Although accusations of genocide have been denied by Israeli officials, the effects on Gaza’s population are undeniable.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are already injured, starving, or without access to medical care. Many will succumb not solely due to their wounds or hunger, but because of the absence of surgical intervention, antibiotics, or even basic pain relief. Furthermore, many who are not injured by conflict remain at risk: individuals with chronic diseases, pregnant women, children needing vaccinations, and cancer patients awaiting treatment face a healthcare system that no longer exists.

A recent report presents a legal interpretation of genocide based on Article II(c) of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which defines genocide as deliberately inflicting living conditions intended to bring about the physical destruction of a group in whole or in part. This framework acknowledges that genocide can occur progressively through the destruction of essential systems and institutions, rather than solely through immediate killing. The devastation of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure exemplifies this form of genocide.

This gradual form of genocide is no less severe; it simply unfolds over a longer period. While direct violence ceases immediately when hostilities end, and some aspects of famine-related damage might be reversible if adequate aid is provided through neutral channels prioritizing vulnerable populations, a shattered healthcare system continues to cause loss of life long after the last missile falls.