- As Closure of Rafah Blocks Life-Saving Treatment//Half of Gaza Dialysis Patients Lost Amid Rafah Shutdown
The continued closure of Rafah land crossing by Israeli occupation forces has caused a severe crisis in the Gaza Strip, preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid during and after the war.
Kidney failure patients are among the most directly affected, as they struggle to survive while awaiting the reopening of the crossing to travel for treatment. Medical sources indicate that the disease has claimed the lives of nearly 50% of kidney patients in Gaza.
At Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, 15-year-old Rawaa al-Dahma undergoes regular dialysis sessions, which have become part of her daily routine since being diagnosed with kidney failure. Her condition has worsened significantly due to the lack of adequate treatment and her inability to travel outside Gaza during the war.
Rawaa’s mother, Sabreen, told QNA that her daughter has suffered from a chronic kidney condition since birth and previously underwent surgery. However, her health deteriorated sharply following the outbreak of the war, the interruption of treatment, and the closure of the Rafah crossing, forcing her to begin dialysis approximately five months ago.
She explained that Rawaa now undergoes three to four dialysis sessions per week and endures severe fatigue and continuous suffering. Sabreen said that daily life is confined between home and hospital, noting that her daughter’s health continues to decline and that the physical and emotional toll affects the entire family.
She stressed that the family is seeking only access to treatment, calling for the reopening of crossings to allow patients to travel and receive lifesaving care, particularly as children and chronically ill patients in Gaza face increasingly limited time.
Sabreen said she is ready to donate one of her kidneys to her daughter after completing the necessary medical examinations, but the continued closure of Rafah crossing prevents travel and completion of treatment.
She emphasised that kidney transplantation represents the only viable option to save her daughter’s life and enable her to live normally, adding that hundreds of patients in Gaza remain on waiting lists for treatment abroad. She warned that prolonged closure would lead to further health deterioration and additional loss of life.
Head of Nephrology Department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Dr Ghazi al-Yazji, said the closure of crossings, particularly Rafah, poses a direct and serious threat to kidney patients. He noted that many patients are awaiting referrals to undergo kidney transplants outside Gaza, which constitute the most effective treatment, but continued restrictions prevent travel and worsen health conditions.
In remarks to QNA, al-Yazji said some patients suffer from autoimmune kidney diseases requiring diagnostic biopsies unavailable in Gaza, necessitating treatment abroad. Delays in such procedures, he warned, often result in progression to kidney failure and dependence on dialysis.
He added that some dialysis patients are awaiting the reopening of the Rafah crossing to complete transplant procedures, stressing that continued closure not only threatens lives but also places additional strain on dialysis units already operating under severe shortages.
According to al-Yazji, the dialysis department at Al-Shifa currently serves around 210 patients with end-stage kidney disease, each requiring three weekly sessions lasting four hours, under extremely difficult medical and humanitarian conditions.
He pointed to acute shortages in dialysis machines, medical consumables, and essential medications due to the Israeli blockade and restrictions on medical supplies. The lack of certain medications has forced medical teams to rely on blood transfusions, which carry health risks and may delay or prevent future transplants.
Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told QNA that approximately 50% of dialysis patients in Gaza died while awaiting treatment abroad or the arrival of essential medical supplies during the two years of war, amid daily fatalities and the absence of more than 70% of required medications.
He noted that the complex operates only 34 dialysis machines serving about 750 kidney failure patients, an insufficient capacity that worsened after Israeli attacks destroyed hospitals providing specialised renal services, including the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza.
Abu Salmiya warned that continued delays in reopening the Rafah crossing, or severe restrictions on patient travel, would further deepen the crisis and pose grave risks to patients requiring transplants or specialised care unavailable in Gaza. He called for facilitating patient travel and expanding medical evacuation.
The prolonged closure of Rafah land crossing has severely impacted Gaza’s population, with Israeli occupation authorities preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid. According to the Ministry of Health, the closure has led to the deaths of more than 1,000 patients and wounded individuals awaiting treatment abroad, while nearly 20,000 others remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.