The medical emergency in the war-torn Gaza Strip is worsening, with the region’s health ministry reporting a sharp decline in access to treatment outside Gaza. According to ministry data, under a U.S.-led agreement reached last October, about 21,000 people were supposed to receive permission to leave Gaza for medical care. In reality, fewer than 7,500 have been allowed to travel, representing only 36 percent of the target.

Roughly one-third of those expected to travel were emergency patients, each entitled to two companions. Many of these patients remain trapped in Gaza without the necessary permits, facing life-threatening delays in treatment. Nasser Hospital continues to operate under extreme strain, hampered by severe shortages of medicines, medical equipment, and essential supplies.

The crisis has been compounded by Israeli military actions in Khan Younis, where ambulance vehicles were damaged during operations, and Nasser Hospital was raided twice. Health authorities report that the damaged ambulances, marked by bullet holes and fire damage, have drastically reduced the ability to transport and treat the wounded promptly.