Why Approved Medical Aid Is Still Stuck Outside Gaza
The World Health Organization warned on October 3, 2026 that repeated delays in bringing life-saving medicines, prosthetics and other supplies from Israel into Gaza risked "devastating consequences" for Palestinians who urgently need them. Al Jazeera
The warning came from Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, the WHO representative in Palestine. She called on Israeli authorities to "release the pressure on medical supplies" and described a supply chain limited to a single humanitarian corridor, one approved route for aid to move through during conflict.
According to WHO, approved aid can now enter Gaza only through Kerem Shalom at the southern tip of the territory. Rafah is open only for limited movement of people, including patients needing medical treatment abroad. Four other main entry points, Kissufim, Gate 96, Erez and Erez West, remain closed and under total Israeli control.
Approval has not meant access. Van De Weerdt said almost 87 percent of medicines for Gaza were approved and just over 1 percent were rejected. She said the bottleneck is administrative and logistical. It is like having a prescription approved but finding the pharmacy door locked. One shipment of prosthetics and assistive devices was rejected four times over the past six months, she said, leaving amputees and other injured patients without devices adapted to their needs.
The medical warning comes alongside broader humanitarian pressures heading into winter. Van De Weerdt said almost two million people in Gaza need shelter against cold and flooding risk. Separately, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned of serious public health risks from accumulation of solid waste in Gaza City, where collection and disposal systems have broken down.
WHO said on October 2 that not enough humanitarian aid is entering Gaza to allow for a meaningful expansion and restoration of health services. CTV News That assessment follows two years of conflict during which, WHO has reported, the health system has been under immense pressure, with severe shortages of medicines and equipment affecting quality and continuity of care.
Earlier WHO warnings trace the deterioration over time. In May 2025, the agency warned of worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and shelter. WHO In October 2023, it documented 34 attacks on health care in Gaza since the preceding Saturday, resulting in the deaths of 11 health workers on duty. WHO EMRO In November 2023, UN agencies warned that women and newborns were bearing the brunt of the conflict. WHO
The broader context here is about flow rather than a formal blockade order. With only one goods crossing working, Israeli authorities control screening and therefore volume and pace. For humanitarian planners, that makes procurement, warehousing and surgical scheduling unpredictable. For diplomats, negotiation narrows to technical questions, hours of operation, inspection protocols and rejected-item lists, that determine whether approved stocks actually reach clinics. Winter shelter needs and solid waste risks add to the strain from delayed prosthetics and medicines, when follow-on health effects can outpace battlefield injuries.
