Rizky Amelia
Across the Gaza Strip, a catastrophic depletion of medical oxygen supplies is endangering the survival of patients who rely on continuous respiratory support. In displacement camps and makeshift shelters, families caring for chronically ill relatives are forced to endure an agonizing vigil, watching pressure meters slowly decline with little hope of finding immediate replacements when their cylinders run dry.
In a crowded tent in az-Zuwayda, located in central Gaza, Ali Humaida spends his days and nights monitoring the failing gauge of an oxygen tank stationed near his son's mattress. His 14-year-old son, Abdulaziz, requires round-the-clock supplemental oxygen to stay alive. With every downward shift of the needle, his father is gripped by panic over where the next refill will come from in an enclave where basic medical infrastructure has been largely decimated.
The threat of sudden depletion is a reality the Humaida family has already faced. Ali recalled a terrifying night when the cylinder emptied unexpectedly before dawn, causing Abdulaziz’s breathing to deteriorate rapidly. With no backup supply available, family members frantically waved pieces of cardboard and their hands to move air over the teenager's face as his skin began turning blue, terrified he would slip into an irreversible coma while they stood helpless.
Abdulaziz has endured severe health challenges since birth, having been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and underdeveloped lungs. He also suffers from hydrocephalus, an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain that required the surgical insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to drain excess fluid and alleviate intracranial pressure. In addition to these physical ailments, Abdulaziz lives with autism spectrum disorder, demanding intensive daily support that has become nearly impossible to provide within a displacement camp.
Prior to the outbreak of the war, the teenager received specialized medical therapy at a hospital in Israel. That lifeline has been entirely severed, leaving his care in the hands of Gaza’s severely degraded health network. The loss of stable care has also triggered an overwhelming financial crisis for his family, with monthly costs for essential medications, diapers, and transportation rising to between 950 and 1,100 shekels ($315 to $365), approximately twice the amount spent before the hostilities began.
The crisis facing the Humaida family reflects a system-wide collapse of respiratory infrastructure across the territory. According to an assessment released by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on August 15, only 12 of the strip’s 34 oxygen-generation stations were functional. Furthermore, out of 30 specialized machines designated to fill portable oxygen cylinders, a mere four remained operational.
The few oxygen units that remain active are operating under extreme strain, leading to continuous mechanical breakdowns. Health authorities report that the widespread failure of this machinery stems directly from restrictions enforced by Israeli authorities at border crossings. Israel has prohibited the entry of critical spare parts, mechanical components, and specialized lubricants required to maintain hospital generators and oxygen plants, while simultaneously blocking the importation of new replacement facilities.
Under Israeli import regulations, oxygen cylinders, electrical power generators, and auxiliary medical devices are categorized as "dual-use" items. Consequently, their transit through closed crossings has been barred, preventing health facilities from refurbishing their broken equipment or establishing alternative generation capacity to meet the soaring demand.
This acute bottleneck forced the Ministry of Health and several hospitals across the strip to completely stop refilling private oxygen cylinders for patients receiving care at home or inside displacement camps. Medical administrators took the decision as an emergency measure to preserve remaining supplies for dedicated hospital piping networks that sustain high-priority facilities, including intensive care units, neonatal incubators, and operating rooms.
The suspension of external refills poses severe physiological risks for individuals dependent on home therapy. Dr. Ghada Hassouna, a physician at al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital in Deir el-Balah, warned that any sudden reduction in blood-oxygen saturation triggers immediate clinical deterioration. Patients frequently develop rapid, labored breathing and an elevated heart rate alongside cyanosis, a telltale bluish discoloration of the skin resulting from inadequate oxygenation.
Dr. Hassouna emphasized that prolonged oxygen deprivation threatens permanent damage to vital organ systems, with the brain being especially susceptible. Brain tissue breaks down rapidly when deprived of oxygen, meaning that any sudden interruption in Abdulaziz's supply could result in severe, irreversible neurological damage.
The physical environment of displacement has intensified these respiratory hazards. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are living in unventilated, open-air tent settlements exposed to thick dust and toxic fumes generated by burning plastic refuse and makeshift electrical generators. These hazardous conditions have caused a sharp spike in respiratory illnesses across the strip, doubling the incidence of acute pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
For families like the Humaidas, the converging crises of environmental contamination and medical scarcity have created an environment of unrelenting terror. Ali Humaida noted that while his son’s autism prevents him from verbally communicating physical pain, the distress is visible in his eyes. For parents across the besieged enclave, the daily struggle has been reduced to a desperate hope that their children will simply be granted the ability to breathe.
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