Help Gaza and West Bank hospitals, Palestinian envoy urges India

Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh. Files.

The Palestinian Authority has called on the Union government and Indian humanitarian organizations to act “urgently” to help the Palestinian health sector overcome the “state of collapse” it is currently in after nearly three years of Israel’s military campaign.

Referring to the Indian government’s “Aarogya Maitri” project, Palestine Ambassador Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh said at a press conference on Friday that the project should be extended to the Palestinian health sector, which is facing a “catastrophic” situation.

“Recently the Honorable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced the ‘Aarogya Maitri’ project where he pledged and I quote his words, “Under this project, India will provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disaster or humanitarian crises,” said Mr. Abu Shawesh, seeking help for the Palestinian people in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

“This is the exact moment to save thousands of innocent lives. If not India and the Indian people, then who? If not now, then when? Every life matters,” said Mr Abu Shawesh. After years of bombardment by Israeli forces, “the Palestinian health sector is in desperate need of urgent international support, including the immediate provision of $100 million worth of life-saving, vital medicines and medical supplies,” he said.

The supply of cancer drugs has taken a hit

The Palestinian envoy said that the Palestinian Ministry of Health currently needs to provide the hospital with approximately 520 essential medicines, but that nearly 180 of these medicines are “completely unavailable”. “Furthermore, out of 97 drugs specialized in the treatment of cancer and tumors, 50 are currently at zero stock, posing an imminent risk to nearly 4,000 cancer patients,” he said. The envoy said Palestinian hospitals are running out of goods such as anesthetic drugs, surgical sutures, dialysis filters, blood units, surgical equipment, insulin and even the fuel needed to run hospital generators.

The envoy said Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings and an unknown number of bodies trapped under rubble that required proper disposal. He further said that the conflict has also revealed human remains in cemeteries in the Palestinian territories that require proper handling. The medical emergency is such that Palestinian government hospitals in the West Bank have postponed thousands of operations, he said. “…more than 11,000 planned operations have been postponed since the beginning of 2026 due to lack of medicines, supplies and operational capacity,” said Mr. Abu Shawesh.

Published – 19 Jun 2026 22:15 IST