CAIRO, August 19. /TASS/. The majority of hospitals in the Gaza Strip are no longer functioning, while over 1,500 medical workers have been killed in military operations in the enclave since October 2023, Al Jazeera reported, citing data from the Gaza Health Ministry.

According to the ministry, only 15 of about 40 hospitals in Gaza are still functioning. As many as 1,590 medical staff, including at least 200 doctors, have been killed, further crippling the health sector’s ability to provide essential care to Gaza’s population.

The Health Ministry added that almost the lives of 300,000 children in Gaza are in danger due to hunger and malnutrition, while adults are suffering from anemia, which makes it difficult to find blood donors for the injured.

Tensions intensified again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the enclave's death toll has exceeded 62,000, and over 156,000 have suffered injuries. In addition, 263 Gaza residents, including 112 children, have died from starvation.

Since March 2, 2025, aid from international humanitarian organizations and UN agencies has stopped arriving in the Gaza Strip. In May, as an alternative to the traditional aid distribution system, Israel, with the support of the United States, established a food delivery scheme giving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) virtually exclusive rights to establish distribution centers and distribute food and essential goods.