Collapse of Al-Awda Hospital Marks Total Breakdown of Northern Gaza’s Healthcare System

In the midst of relentless military offensives and a prolonged blockade, Al-Awda Hospital, the last partially operational medical facility in northern Gaza, has ceased functioning following a two-week siege. This development underscores the catastrophic collapse of Gaza's healthcare infrastructure, already debilitated by nearly two years of continuous conflict.

In early May, audio messages from within Al-Awda, recorded by the hospital's director Dr. Mohammed Salha, captured the intensifying violence surrounding the facility. “They are shooting a lot. The tank has besieged the hospital,” he whispered in one message. This moment marked the beginning of the hospital’s final days, as Israeli military activity intensified around the Jabalia-based institution.

Despite operating under siege conditions for months, Al-Awda—an EU and internationally supported facility—was eventually declared non-operational. Staff, including Dr. Salha, were forced to evacuate while under direct fire, transporting critically ill patients via stretchers and wheelchairs through debris-littered streets. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian actors have warned that Gaza’s health system is “on the brink of collapse”, describing it as being systematically dismantled.

Throughout the conflict, Al-Awda provided care for dozens of war casualties daily, despite dwindling medical resources. However, as Israeli ground operations expanded and intensified, the hospital’s infrastructure deteriorated significantly. On May 18, sustained shelling shattered windows, severed gas and water lines, and disabled electricity. Aerial verification, including drone footage, confirmed extensive structural damage.

One particularly traumatic episode for Dr. Salha involved the arrival of six deceased civilians, three of whom were his relatives—two young nieces and a nephew—killed in an airstrike while asleep. Despite overwhelming grief, he resumed duties after a brief moment of solitude, emblematic of the emotional toll on Gaza's medical personnel. Concurrently, United Nations agencies reported increasing fatalities among children, further highlighting the disproportionate impact of the conflict on vulnerable populations.

By late May, all major hospitals in northern Gaza, including the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan, had been rendered non-functional due to ongoing attacks. At Al-Awda, supplies of oxygen, pharmaceuticals, and fuel became critically low. Attempts to facilitate emergency aid deliveries or evacuations were obstructed by continuous violence and impassable routes. Reports indicated that ambulances were targeted by drones and communications with humanitarian partners became sporadic.

On May 21, Israeli forces fully surrounded the hospital. That night, shelling caused a blaze that damaged multiple floors, obliterated emergency tents, and incinerated vital stockpiles of medicine and fuel—raising fears of secondary explosions. The WHO confirmed its facilities on-site were destroyed, forcing it to suspend planned support operations. NGOs such as ActionAid condemned the events, calling them "deeply alarming."

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) maintained that their operations targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in the vicinity and denied intentionally striking the hospital. They also claimed to have facilitated evacuation and firefighting efforts. Nonetheless, video evidence captured patients being manually transported across rubble-strewn terrain to ambulances situated hundreds of meters away, raising serious concerns about the humanitarian impact.

By May 23, three staff members had sustained injuries due to renewed shelling, and the hospital’s emergency department was reportedly struck. The WHO helped coordinate partial evacuations, with Dr. Salha’s injured sister-in-law—who had lost her children in an earlier airstrike—among the patients moved under fire.

Eventually, Dr. Salha and the remaining personnel were ordered to evacuate entirely. His request to leave behind a small team to care for patients was reportedly denied. While the IDF insists the evacuation was voluntary, the testimonies and visual documentation suggest otherwise. That evening, Al-Awda—once a beacon of resilience—stood deserted.

On June 17, a temporary clearance allowed Dr. Salha to return to the site to recover remaining supplies. He described the hospital as physically intact yet heavily damaged, with previously repaired water systems destroyed anew and interiors severely compromised. Despite this, he expressed hope for the future: “We hope the war finishes soon so we can go back.”

The WHO has labeled Al-Awda’s closure a devastating loss, affirming that no fully functional hospital remains in northern Gaza. The systematic targeting and degradation of healthcare facilities, compounded by resource blockades and ongoing hostilities, have left Gaza’s medical system in a state of near-total collapse.

Updated Context:

As of June 2025, the WHO and other agencies report that less than 40% of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure is operational, with most facilities operating at minimal capacity and under threat. Over 400 healthcare workers have been killed since the onset of the conflict, and critical shortages persist in surgical equipment, neonatal care, and trauma management. Repeated calls for humanitarian corridors and ceasefires to facilitate medical aid have largely gone unheeded. Independent observers continue to document widespread violations of international humanitarian law, particularly with regard to the protection of medical facilities and personnel.

Source: Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters, and The Guardian, WHO, OCHA, MSF, Red Cross, Relief International