Gaza's dwindling CT scanners force patients into months-long waits

The Gaza health system, crippled by extensive damage, now operates with just three working CT scanners and no MRI machines, a sharp drop from the eighteen CT units and seven MRIs available before the October 2023 war. This scarcity forces hospitals such as Yafa to ration imaging, treating only the most urgent injuries and postponing routine or chronic cases. Patients like a ten-year-old boy with a skull fracture and a woman suffering from kidney-stone pain have experienced vastly different wait times, highlighting the uneven impact.

Doctors are compelled to substitute CT and MRI with X-rays or ultrasounds, which often lack the detail needed for accurate diagnoses. The World Health Organization notes that 94% of Gaza’s hospitals are damaged, leaving just 19 of 36 partially operational as of May 2025. Continued shortages risk worsening health outcomes for thousands awaiting essential imaging.