Abu Salmiya: The Zionist Siege Is Suffocating Gaza and Silently Killing Its Patients
Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, Director General of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, affirmed that the Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and health catastrophe due to the ongoing Zionist blockade and the prevention of medical supplies and medications from entering. He noted that since the end of the war, the health sector has received no more than 10% of the minimum requirements needed to keep hospitals running.
In a press statement, Abu Salmiya revealed that more than 350,000 patients are suffering from a severe shortage of chronic disease medications, while cases of respiratory illness have sharply increased as a result of the debris and destruction left by the aggression. He stressed that the enemy is deliberately strangling Gaza, starving its people, and denying them treatment as part of its systematic genocide against the Palestinian population.
He further pointed out that 22,000 patients are in urgent need of travel for treatment abroad, including 18,000 who have completed all necessary medical arrangements. However, the closure of border crossings has turned their treatment journeys into deferred dreams. Abu Salmiya emphasized that nearly 1,000 patients have lost their lives due to the cruel blockade and the denial of medicine.
The director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex added that the health catastrophe in Gaza exposes the hypocrisy of the so-called “humanitarian” values preached by the United States and the West. He called on the international community to break its silence and withdraw the cover shielding the perpetrators of genocide against the sick and wounded in the Strip.
Abu Salmiya concluded by affirming that Gaza’s health sector will remain steadfast despite the siege, and that doctors and nurses continue to work with unbreakable faith, drawing strength from the sacrifices of martyrs and resistance fighters — steadfast until the enemy is defeated, the crossings are reopened, and medicine returns to every Palestinian home.