The Embassy of Palestine in India has issued an urgent appeal for immediate international and Indian intervention for medical assistance, stating that the healthcare sector in the territory has collapsed and is on the “verge of complete collapse”.
“Embassy of the State of Palestine Republic of India “Expresses its deep concern at the catastrophic collapse of the healthcare sector in the occupied Palestinian territory as a direct result of the ongoing Israeli genocidal war, military attacks, large-scale destruction of medical infrastructure, severe restrictions on humanitarian access and financial strangulation measures,” the embassy said in an official statement on Friday. This is the perfect moment to save the lives of thousands of innocent people. If not India and Indian people; So who? If not now; then when? “Every life matters,” the statement said.
“The Palestinian people continue to look to the conscience of humanity and India’s historic commitment to justice, humanitarian values, anti-colonial principles and support of oppressed peoples,” it said.
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The Embassy called on India to provide medical assistance under the “Arogya Maitri” humanitarian initiative, which extends India’s commitment to global health and disaster relief.
“Recently, the Honorable Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Narendra Modi announced the “Arogya Maitri” project, where he pledged, and I quote his words: “Under this project, India will provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crises,” the statement said.
The embassy described it as a “humanitarian disaster of unprecedented scale”, citing World Health Organization (WHO) figures. According to the embassy, only 19 of the territory’s 36 hospitals are “partially operational”, highlighting the disastrous state of hospitals in Gaza as well as “severe shortages” of medicines, equipment, dialysis supplies, blood units and fuel to run hospital generators.
The statement said, “On the 986th day of the ongoing Israeli genocidal war, the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip has reached unprecedented levels of devastation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 19 out of 36 hospitals are partially operational under extremely limited emergency conditions. The World Health Organization has warned that Gaza’s health system has collapsed.”
The embassy highlighted the urgent need for medical evacuation of thousands of patients amid deteriorating treatment facilities.
“International humanitarian organizations have reported severe shortages of anesthesia, antibiotics, dialysis supplies, blood units, surgical equipment, insulin, and the fuel needed to operate hospital generators. The ongoing Israeli military genocidal war has resulted in thousands of deaths, casualties and injuries, overwhelming remaining health facilities, while thousands of patients remain in urgent need of medical evacuation outside the Gaza Strip.”
The embassy highlighted that the spread of skin diseases, rodent-borne infestations and the presence of thousands of bodies trapped under the debris have created conditions that threaten the most vulnerable, especially children and those with weakened immune systems. Citing data from WHO, UN, UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations, the embassy said it is estimated that 12,000 bodies are trapped under the debris. Additionally, the embassy said sanitation systems have “collapsed”, with a lack of clean water, waste accumulation, and the rapid spread of diseases leading to “disastrous” living conditions in Gaza.
“These conditions have also led to an increase in the presence of rats, snakes and mosquitoes and the rapid spread of serious skin diseases and dangerous infections including lice, fleas, bedbugs and rodent-associated infections, creating an environment highly vulnerable to epidemic and infectious diseases,” the embassy statement said.
According to the embassy, these conditions also pose a serious risk to children and patients with weakened immune systems, revealing that almost all children in Gaza now require mental health and psychosocial support, while thousands are facing severe malnutrition.
“International reports further warn that these conditions pose a serious threat, especially to children, the elderly and patients suffering from weakened immune systems. The crisis has seriously deteriorated food security, child health and maternal care in Gaza. Thousands of children suffer from severe malnutrition. International reports further indicate that almost all children in Gaza are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support.”
Additionally, the embassy said the crisis extends to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, adding that financial constraints exacerbated by withheld tax revenues have severely limited the Health Ministry’s ability to provide services to the population in need.
The statement said, “At the same time, the occupied West Bank is facing a growing health care crisis as a result of severe Israeli financial strangulation measures, including the continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues. These policies have created unprecedented shortfalls in public funding, particularly affecting the Palestinian healthcare sector, on which the vast majority of Palestinians depend as beneficiaries of public medical services.”
It said, “In an effort to address the growing humanitarian emergency, the Palestinian Government has provided thousands of free health insurance policies to families who have lost their sources of income during the ongoing Israeli genocidal war. This has placed enormous additional pressure on public hospitals and health care institutions already suffering from severe financial and logistical constraints.”
The embassy revealed that the number of surgeries performed in government hospitals has declined, with more than 11,000 procedures postponed this year alone due to severe shortages in medicines and operational capacity.
“The scale of the crisis is worrying. Over the past year, Palestinian government hospitals in the West Bank performed approximately 65,000 surgeries. However, during the current year, only approximately 19,500 surgeries have been performed, while more than 11,000 scheduled surgeries have been postponed from early 2026 due to shortages in medicines, supplies and operational capacity,” the statement said.
The embassy further confirmed that the Palestinian Ministry of Health is facing a serious crisis of essential medicines, many of them essential surgical equipment as well as those required for specialized treatments, threatening the health of thousands of patients.
“The Palestinian Ministry of Health currently seeks to make available approximately 520 essential medicines; however, approximately 180 of these medicines are now completely unavailable. Additionally, 50 of the 97 medicines specialized for the treatment of cancer and tumors are currently at zero stock levels, putting approximately 4,000 cancer patients at immediate risk,” the statement said.
“The ministry’s central warehouses are also facing acute shortage of specialized medical consumables, including dialysis filters required by kidney patients, surgical sutures used in delicate operations like cardiac surgeries and many other life-saving medical supplies. The absence of these critical materials effectively leads to slow and preventable deaths of many patients.”
In his urgent appeal, Palestinian Embassy Called on the international community and especially the Government of India for $100 million worth of life-saving medical supplies.
The statement said, “Today, the Palestinian healthcare sector is in dire need of urgent international support, including the immediate provision of life-saving, critically needed medicines and medical supplies worth USD 100 million. The Embassy of the State of Palestine calls on the international community, particularly the Government of India, Indian humanitarian organizations, medical institutions, civil society organizations and all concerned parties to support the Palestinian healthcare sector, ensure immediate and continuous delivery of humanitarian and medical assistance and ensure the survival of Palestinian lives. And calls for help in protecting the dignity of citizens.”
