Medical supplies intended for Gaza are waiting a median of 74 days for approval before they can move towards the territory, according to a new assessment presented by the World Health Organization. The agency says the delays are helping to keep every hospital in Gaza short of full functionality, at a time when patients and health workers are already operating under severe pressure.
The warning is not simply about the volume of aid. It is about whether the right medicines, equipment and rehabilitation items reach people soon enough to be useful. A shipment that arrives after a treatment window has passed, or equipment held until it is damaged or obsolete, cannot meet the need it was sent to address.
A lengthy and uncertain approval process
Before medical cargo can move towards Gaza, it must pass an approval process administered by Israeli authorities. The health agency said its analysis put the median wait at 74 days. When a consignment is not approved, the process has to begin again, while requirements can change without a clear explanation.
That uncertainty has particular consequences for specialised equipment. Standard health kits have had low approval rates, while X-ray machines, sterilisation equipment, spare parts for CT scanners and laboratory supplies have been among the items delayed or rejected. The agency said 40% of laboratory and diagnostic equipment was pending approval at the time of the briefing.
Laboratories and diagnostic equipment are not peripheral to hospital care. They help clinicians identify infections, monitor treatment and spot outbreaks early. Where those tools are unavailable, the ability to detect and contain disease is weakened as well as the capacity to diagnose individual patients.
Rehabilitation needs caught in the bottleneck
The agency also highlighted the impact on people with limb injuries and other disabilities. It said one shipment containing prosthetics and assistive devices had been rejected four times in the previous six months. Each rejection meant another delay for people waiting to regain mobility or to receive support for daily life.
That problem sits alongside an already acute rehabilitation gap. Earlier assessments described a health system in which specialist rehabilitation services and equipment were severely constrained. The latest warning does not establish an outcome for every delayed shipment, but it does show why repeated administrative setbacks matter for patients whose recovery can depend on timely fitting, follow-up care and reliable equipment.
Hospitals under continuing pressure
The WHO representative said no hospital in Gaza was fully functional, linking that position largely to chronic shortages of medicines and medical supplies. Medicines generally have a clearer route than some equipment, but the agency said the overall flow still falls far short of what is required to restore health services.
Collection after approval can also be difficult. Moving supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing requires security arrangements and coordination, adding another stage between an authorised consignment and a patient. The agency has called for supplies to enter predictably and at scale through more than one crossing, rather than being channelled through a limited route.
Winter raises the stakes
The appeal comes as colder, wetter conditions threaten to compound existing health risks. Many people need shelter that can withstand rain and flooding, while unreliable access to clean water, damaged sanitation systems and limited diagnostic capacity can make preventable disease harder to track and control.
For health workers, the immediate test is practical: whether essential items arrive when they are needed. The new figures place that test at the centre of the debate over aid access, alongside the wider effort to protect patients, staff and displaced families during the winter months.
