Israel’s siege on Gaza is forcing dentists to operate in the streets

What the report says

In Gaza City, dentist Rizq Sufyan Abo Halima is treating patients from a tent set up in an alleyway after repeated destruction of his clinics and the scarcity of affordable space left him with few alternatives. Al Jazeera reports that his earlier practice in Sheikh Zayed City was bombed early in the war in 2023, and a second clinic he built in al-Nasr neighbourhood was also destroyed months later. He now performs emergency dental work in the tent near the ruins of that site.

The report says the decision is tied to the broader impact of Israel’s siege and war on Gaza, which have made housing and commercial premises hard to find and prohibitively expensive. Abo Halima said he once rented an apartment for his clinic for 500 shekels a month before the war, but now remaining spaces can cost around $1,000, while repairs are also constrained by shortages and restrictions on building materials. He told Al Jazeera that operating from a tent helps keep treatment prices lower for patients.

Patients and staff described the arrangement as a compromise between harsh conditions and unaffordable care. The article says the clinic must contend with extreme heat, irregular electricity and the need to protect instruments from dust and theft. A nurse working there said some patients choose tooth extractions over fillings because they cannot afford the higher cost of more complex treatment. The story underscores how damage to infrastructure and the collapsed local economy have turned even basic dental care into a luxury for many people in Gaza.