Gazans search in vain for medicines

Standing in front of the almost bare shelves of his Nejma pharmacy in the town of Rafah, Hammam Ali reeled off all the illnesses for which he said there were no medicines in the Gaza strip. These include common conditions such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

There were no antibiotics, he said, neither were there liquid medicines for young children and drugs to treat viral infections and high fevers. “Within a month after the start of the war on October 7, all essential drugs and their known alternatives became unavailable in Gaza,” said Ali.

He recounted how a man had come into his pharmacy the day before he spoke to the Financial Times, asking for epilepsy medication for his four children, but Ali had nothing to give him. The father was so distraught he “appeared to be about to lose his mind”, said the pharmacist who “felt helpless” every day as desperate people walked into his shop looking for medicine, but he could not supply it.

The health system in Gaza has nearly collapsed since the start of Israel’s offensive in the territory, aid agencies have warned. Only 14 out of 36 hospitals are still open. Those still functioning are overwhelmed and offer only a partial service, according to the World Health Organization.

Medical supplies, from anaesthesia to everyday basic drugs, are scarce. On average just over 100 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies enter Gaza every day compared with 500 before the war, said UN officials.

“Like other kinds of humanitarian supplies, medicines do not enter Gaza in sufficient quantities to meet the need,” said the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza.

“Hospitals are in constant need of supplies, like medicines used during surgery and drugs for burns. There is also a shortage of cancer therapies and antibiotics. Unfortunately, people with chronic conditions find it difficult to secure medicine,” added ICRC.

It said ICRC doctors on missions in the territory have heard from…