AhlulBayt News Agency: Noor Sharaf, who currently works as an emergency doctor in Gaza, sounded the warning in a statement on Wednesday, stressing that the current situation in Gaza is unlike anything she has ever witnessed, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Speaking from Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Sharaf described the situation in Gaza as unprecedented, noting that the hospital’s emergency department is so overwhelmed that the wounded are being treated on the floor.
She stated that doctors are working extended hours beyond their scheduled shifts, with no access to food.
“We see people who haven’t eaten for several days collapsing from hunger,” Sharaf added.
This is while doctors across Gaza have warned that worsening hunger is now crippling their ability to care for patients—staff are fainting mid surgery and working without food for days, while overwhelmed hospitals struggle to treat those suffering from malnutrition, gastroenteritis, low blood sugar, and complications after operations due to depleted conditions.
“They are in a state of extreme exhaustion. Some have fainted in the operating rooms. Medical services will be affected because our staff will not be able to hold out any longer in the face of this famine,” Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, told The Guardian.
He added that like the people of Gaza, staff had not received any aid or had any meals in the past 48 hours.
With 21 children dying from starvation in just a few days and medical teams facing the hard choice between feeding themselves or their patients, Gaza’s fragile healthcare system—with only half of its hospitals still operational—is teetering on the brink of collapse as aid remains largely insufficient.
“Today I have been on a 24-hour shift. At [the hospital] they are supposed to give us some rice for each shift, but today they told us there was none. My colleague and I [treated] 60 neurosurgery patients and right now I can’t even stand,” said a physician at al-Shifa hospital.
A surgeon at Nasser medical complex in Gaza also stressed that “[These patients] need special nutrition, but there isn’t any, so they face risks.”
“Some die in their tents and homes and no one knows about it,” he added.
The Israeli army's complete destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza has left behind horrifying scenes of rubble and devastation, with the surrounding area utterly devastated by the military action. pic.twitter.com/OnIUyOydRo
— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) July 24, 2025
Since March, Israel’s blockade of Gaza crossings has blocked thousands of aid trucks, intensifying famine and leaving residents without basic necessities.
“In recent days, healthcare workers in Gaza have collectively reported unprecedented levels of food insecurity, lowered immunity, repeated infections, severe fatigue, and frequent fainting during surgeries and rescue missions. We cannot afford mere condemnation. We need urgent action,” said Muath Alser, director of Healthcare Worker Watch, a Palestinian medical organization.
At least 100 more Palestinians, including 34 waiting for aid, were killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours alone. The United Nations reports that Israeli forces have shot dead more than 1,000 aid seekers at food distribution points in recent months.
Despite aid piling up outside Gaza’s borders, access remains tightly controlled.
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