Watan-A new report by a human rights center reveals that Israeli forces committed acts during their war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These actions led to the deaths of 472 out of 1,200 kidney failure patients in Gaza.
According to the report issued by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), 41% of patients with kidney failure died due to the war, as Israeli forces destroyed 78 out of 140 dialysis machines—depriving patients of critical life-saving treatment.
The report, titled “Kidney Failure Patients Without Healthcare”, states that the military siege on hospitals, direct raids, killings and arrests of medical staff and patients, destruction of equipment, and the prevention of fuel supplies necessary to operate hospitals constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law.
Gaza’s Collapsing Dialysis System: War Crimes, Genocide Indicators, and a Race Against Death
These actions, it argues, amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The report also links them to Articles (b) and (c) of Article II of the Genocide Convention, which prohibit causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group or deliberately inflicting conditions intended to destroy them, in whole or in part.
The report notes that six out of seven specialized kidney treatment centers in Gaza were either heavily damaged or completely shut down. This includes four centers in Gaza and the north, and two in the central and southern provinces. Currently, 62 dialysis machines remain operational, but at reduced efficiency, after 78 were destroyed—cutting treatment capacity in half amid severe shortages of medications and medical supplies.
Most of the deaths occurred in Gaza and the northern provinces due to the destruction of treatment centers and denial of regular access to dialysis sessions, worsening patients’ health and causing death.
The report documents the suffering of patients displaced to central and southern Gaza in search of care, including testimonials from bereaved families whose loved ones died after dialysis sessions were reduced from 12 to just 4 hours per week.
It highlights that kidney patients still struggle to access even one dialysis session per week under catastrophic conditions.
728 Patients Struggle for Survival Amid Blockade as Israel Faces Genocide Accusations
Currently, approximately 728 kidney patients are receiving care at four partially restored centers despite significant damage:
- Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City (280 patients)
- Al-Zawaida Field Hospital (50 patients
- Al-Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis (260 patients)
- Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah (138 patients)
The PCHR holds the Israeli occupying forces fully responsible for the deteriorating health conditions and mass deaths among kidney patients, citing Israel’s legal obligations under the Geneva Conventions to provide healthcare for civilians under occupation. The report frames these violations as part of a broader pattern of crimes committed since October 7, 2023, during which Israeli leaders have called for the extermination of Gaza’s population.
The center urged the international community to intervene urgently to halt the genocide, allow the entry of medical supplies and dialysis machines into Gaza, and establish sustainable alternatives to ensure continuous care for kidney failure patients—including permitting them to travel abroad for treatment.
Since March 2, Israeli authorities have blocked the entry of all medicines and medical supplies, including food. Even before that, they prevented the delivery of medical equipment and spare parts, leading to massive shortages that now endanger the lives of patients.
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