Gaza — The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that Gaza is facing an unprecedented medical emergency as vital treatments for a rare neurological syndrome have completely run out, leaving patients, many of them children, without hope of survival. The shortage underscores the broader collapse of the enclave’s health system, already decimated by famine, war, and years of blockade.
Health officials reported that Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis, has surged in recent months. Since June, 94 confirmed cases have been documented, and at least 10 patients have died, including four children. Among the fatalities, two patients died without receiving any treatment at all, a fact that medical workers described as “a direct result of supply failure.”
The crisis centers on two missing medical resources: intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and plasmapheresis filters. Both are essential in halting the progression of GBS, yet neither is available anywhere in Gaza. Doctors say they are left to watch helplessly as patients lose the ability to walk, breathe, or swallow, knowing that treatment exists just beyond their reach.
“Every day that passes without IVIG is another life lost unnecessarily,” one senior physician in northern Gaza said. “We can diagnose the syndrome, but we cannot save the patient.”
The WHO has linked the surge in GBS to the collapse of water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure across Gaza. Contaminated water, malnutrition, and overcrowding have created conditions where infectious diseases spread unchecked, weakening already fragile immune systems.
Gaza’s hospitals, many of them damaged or destroyed during Israel’s ongoing war, are struggling to keep their doors open. Fuel shortages have crippled generators, surgeries are being conducted without anesthetics, and doctors are forced to reuse limited supplies. Even basic diagnostic tests for GBS are impossible; the WHO confirmed that samples must be sent outside Gaza for laboratory analysis.
Famine has compounded the crisis. By late August, famine was officially declared in Gaza City, with nearly a quarter of the enclave’s population now experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger. Malnutrition has sharply increased susceptibility to diseases like GBS, while therapeutic foods to treat children suffering from wasting have nearly disappeared.
International aid groups say the situation is worsened by the near-total collapse of humanitarian deliveries. Israel announced in May that it was formally lifting its blockade, but the measure has proven largely symbolic. Aid convoys continue to enter Gaza at a trickle, nowhere near enough to restock medicine, food, and clean water supplies.
The WHO has appealed urgently for unrestricted access, stressing that replenishing IVIG and plasmapheresis filters is “a matter of life and death.” Yet despite months of appeals, shipments remain stalled.
The consequences extend beyond GBS. Gaza’s hospitals have been described by aid groups as “warehouses of suffering.” According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), children under 15 make up nearly one-third of outpatients treated for blast wounds and other war-related injuries. With emergency units overwhelmed, even trauma patients often face long waits or improvised care.
Medical professionals warn that the rise of GBS is a symptom of the larger collapse of Gaza’s health system. Without food, clean water, antibiotics, anesthetics, and advanced therapies, the territory is witnessing a return of conditions long thought controllable. Preventable deaths are now routine, and the spread of famine has raised fears that infectious disease outbreaks could spiral further.
Human rights groups have condemned the health catastrophe as another consequence of Israel’s war strategy, which they argue deliberately weaponizes deprivation. Global agencies have warned that the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is not only measured in bombs and bullets, but also in the slow erosion of the basic means of life—food, medicine, and clean water.
The WHO has called for an immediate international response, urging governments to prioritize humanitarian access and medical relief. But with international negotiations stalled and donor fatigue setting in, aid officials warn that Gaza may soon face another wave of avoidable deaths.
According to Reuters, the WHO confirmed on August 29 that the shortage of critical supplies is already killing patients and that unless IVIG and filters are delivered immediately, the death toll from Guillain-Barré Syndrome will climb sharply in the coming weeks.
