The waiting game: Gaza’s CT scan shortage causing worries and worse
Gaza is suffering from a health crisis caused by a shortage in CT scans and leading to worsening medical issues. Dalia Al-Hawari stood behind the
Gaza is suffering from a health crisis caused by a shortage in CT scans and leading to worsening medical issues. Dalia Al-Hawari stood behind the glass partition in the hospital imaging room, watching in silence as her 10-year-old son prepared to have a CT scan to determine the extent of his injuries. Ahmed was playing with friends when he slipped and fell, hurting his head. The scan results showed a fracture to his skull and severe bleeding, with doctors saying there needed to be emergency medical intervention to deal with his injuries. “This was an emergency case. We could not wait. We were referred from Al-Aqsa Hospital to Yafa Hospital to undergo the CT scan because Ahmed needed a rapid diagnosis,” Dalia added. “[Initially] I was very scared because I know that getting a CT scan in Gaza can take weeks, and sometimes one or two months, due to the overwhelming pressure and the shortage of available machines.” Ahmed’s speedy assessment meant he was fortunate. But his mother’s initial concerns reflected those faced by thousands of patients in Gaza, where access to advanced diagnostic imaging has become a dreaded waiting game.
Delays in diagnosis can seriously impact people’s lives and even result in death. It follows extensive damage to Gaza’s health infrastructure and shortages of medical equipment due to Israel’s ongoing genocide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 94% of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, resulting in only 19 out of 36 of the facilities partially functioning as of May 2025. Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza is further limiting health services for Palestinians in Gaza. Waseem Mansour, a physician at Yafa Hospital in central Gaza, says the crisis in the medical imaging department is one of the most serious consequences of the collapse of the healthcare system, reducing the ability of doctors to accurately diagnose conditions and make appropriate treatment decisions. Mansour says the number of CT scan machines available in Gaza has declined significantly since the war on Gaza started on October 8, 2023. “Gaza had 18 CT scan machines before the war, but today only three main machines are operational to serve all governorates of the Strip,” he said. “All seven MRI machines that were available before the war are now out of service.” That puts enormous pressure on the few existing machines that remain operational, especially after the CT scanner at Al-Aqsa Hospital stopped functioning, forcing other centres, including Yafa Hospital, to receive a larger number of cases from blast wounds to heart attacks.
The BriefWire