Gaza doctors forced to prioritize patients as testing and imaging services collapse

# What has happened Medical services in Gaza are facing severe diagnostic shortages. Repeated damage to medical infrastructure and a blockade on supplies have stopped many laboratory and imaging capabilities. Hospitals report critical deficits in testing materials and widespread equipment failures that shape who can receive timely diagnoses.

# The scale and immediate effects

• Laboratory testing materials are reported to be 87% short. Automated clinical chemistry analysers, which handle more than 60% of routine tests, are not working.
• More than three-quarters of imaging equipment is out of service. Only 5 of 18 CT scanners are functioning. All MRI services are unavailable after the destruction of machines.
• Blood gas testing has been suspended. Sterilisation units, refrigerators for blood and plasma, and other supporting equipment have failed or stopped.

These failures mean doctors do not get the lab data needed to set medication dosages, monitor treatment responses, or make urgent decisions. Without those data points, clinical teams must make treatment choices with less certainty than usual.

# How hospitals are coping Given the shortages, hospitals have formal and informal triage systems for diagnostic testing. Priority goes to patients with:

• Kidney disease (including dialysis-dependent patients)
• Cancer
• Heart disease and patients in intensive care

# Patient-level consequences

# Operational risk areas

• Blood banks: refrigeration failures and equipment breakdown raise the risk of blood and plasma stock loss.
• Critical care: suspension of blood gas testing undermines care for cardiac and ICU patients.
• Imaging backlog: with most CT and all MRI capacity lost, hospitals must run the remaining machines beyond their intended capacity, increasing maintenance risks and further delays.

# Coordination and response Medical teams are seeking to coordinate with charities, health organisations and relief institutions to expand access to diagnostics and care. Hospital leaders report restricting tests, X-rays and CT scans to the most urgent cases because of shortages and repeated equipment breakdowns.

# What this means going forward The reported shortages and equipment failures increase the probability of preventable complications and deaths among patients who require routine monitoring or urgent diagnosis. Continued restrictions on medical supplies and damage to equipment will further strain the ability of Gaza's health system to deliver timely, evidence-based care.