Breathing depends on a cylinder: Gaza faces medical oxygen crisis

Az-Zuwayda, Gaza Strip – Ali Humaida’s heart rate quickens as he watches the gauge on the oxygen cylinder sitting in the corner of his tent.

As the needle falls, he looks at his 14-year-old son, Abdulaziz, lying on a mattress in the family’s tent in central Gaza’s az-Zuwayda, worried about how long the remaining oxygen will last – and where he will find more when it runs out.

Abdulaziz depends on a continuous supply of supplemental oxygen, his father says. One night, when the family’s cylinder emptied before they were able to replace it, his breathing rapidly deteriorated.

“The cylinder suddenly ran out in the middle of the night,” Ali recalled. “The minutes turned into a nightmare. We began fanning him with our hands and pieces of cardboard while watching his face turn blue, terrified he would lose consciousness or slip into a coma right before our eyes, while we stood completely helpless.”

For families caring for oxygen-dependent patients in Gaza, such emergencies have become increasingly difficult to avoid.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health warned on August 15 that only 12 of the strip’s 34 oxygen-generation stations remained operational, while only four of 30 devices used to fill oxygen cylinders were still working. The remaining equipment was overworked with repeated mechanical failures, the ministry said.

These conditions have made obtaining cylinders particularly difficult for patients such as Abdulaziz, who receive much of their care outside hospitals.

“Every minute that passes means the oxygen is running out,” Ali said. “I am constantly asking myself: How much is left in the cylinder? Will it last until morning? And if it empties, where will I get another one?”