Kidney failure patients in Gaza are traveling by donkey cart to reach dialysis treatment, according to a report by UN News. The journeys cross roads damaged by months of conflict, and for patients who need treatment multiple times a week to survive, the trips have become a serious threat to their health on top of their illness.
Dialysis is not optional for people with kidney failure. Without it, patients can die within days. In Gaza, the combination of damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages, and the destruction of medical facilities has made reaching treatment one of the most dangerous parts of staying alive.
UN News reported that the situation facing dialysis patients is part of a broader collapse of the health system across Gaza. Many hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. Those still functioning are operating far beyond their capacity, with shortages of equipment, medicine, and trained staff.
For patients who cannot walk long distances or find working vehicles, donkey carts have become a primary mode of transport. The roads they travel are uneven and in many places severely damaged, making the journey physically painful for people who are already weakened by kidney disease.
Dialysis patients typically require treatment three times per week, each session lasting several hours. Missing a session can cause a rapid buildup of waste products in the blood, leading to serious complications or death. The pressure on patients to reach centers regardless of conditions has pushed families to find whatever transportation is available.
The UN has warned repeatedly that the health situation in Gaza is deteriorating. Medical supply convoys have faced obstacles entering the territory, and the number of functioning dialysis machines has dropped significantly since the conflict escalated. Patients who previously received care at facilities closer to their homes now travel much farther because those facilities are no longer operational.
Healthcare workers at remaining dialysis centers have described working through power outages and equipment failures while trying to treat more patients than the centers were designed to handle. Generators have been used to maintain some level of power, but fuel supplies are inconsistent.
UN News noted that children are among those requiring dialysis, adding to the complexity of the humanitarian response. Pediatric kidney patients require specific equipment and care that is increasingly difficult to provide under current conditions.
International health organizations have called for safe corridors to allow medical supplies into Gaza and for protection of health facilities under international humanitarian law. The UN has stated that attacks on medical infrastructure may constitute violations of that law, though the conflict has continued.
The donkey cart journeys described by UN News have drawn attention to how patients with chronic illnesses face compounding risks during armed conflict. While acute trauma cases often receive the most visibility, patients with ongoing medical needs such as dialysis, cancer treatment, or insulin-dependent diabetes face a slower and less visible crisis that can be equally deadly.
