Breathing depends on a cylinder: Gaza faces medical oxygen crisis

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Gaza is facing a worsening medical oxygen shortage that is putting patients who rely on supplemental oxygen at serious risk. The story centers on Ali Humaida and his 14-year-old son Abdulaziz, who lives with a congenital heart defect, underdeveloped lungs, hydrocephalus and autism, and needs a continuous oxygen supply while the family shelters in a tent in central Gaza’s az-Zuwayda.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, only 12 of the territory’s 34 oxygen-generation stations were operating, and just four of 30 cylinder-filling devices were still working. The ministry said the remaining equipment is overburdened and prone to repeated breakdowns. Al Jazeera also reported that hospitals and the health authorities have largely stopped refilling oxygen cylinders for home patients and displaced families, preserving limited supplies for critical hospital units such as intensive care, neonatal care and operating rooms.

The article says families are struggling to secure cylinders and related medical supplies amid broader shortages, higher costs and displacement conditions. A doctor quoted by Al Jazeera explained that oxygen interruption can quickly worsen breathing and cause organ damage, especially to the brain and heart. The report places the crisis in the wider context of Gaza’s damaged health system, border restrictions on spare parts and other equipment, and large numbers of people with chronic illnesses whose treatment has been disrupted by the war. It adds that the shortage affects not just individual households but the wider ability of Gaza’s medical system to function.