Gaza Hospitals: From Healthcare Centers to Strategic Assets

Gaza entered the war with 36 hospitals serving 2.2 million residents, an unusually high figure compared to many regions. For perspective, the Washington D.C. metro area has just 13 hospitals for a population roughly three times larger.

But here’s the catch: most Gaza hospitals are smaller and less equipped than their global counterparts. The largest, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, opened in 2020 with 200 beds, half the size of Washington’s George Washington University Hospital. Pre-war, Gaza averaged 1.3 beds per 1,000 residents, far below the U.S. average of 2.9.

A Network Under Siege

Today, according to UN figures, more than 84% of Gaza’s health facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Only 16–19 hospitals are still partially functional.

While the human toll is undisputed, some security analysts argue that the sheer number of hospitals and their locations play into Hamas’s broader strategy. Under Gaza’s surface lies what experts describe as the most advanced tunnel network ever built by a non-state actor: an estimated 350–450 miles of reinforced passages constructed over 15 years at a cost of roughly $1 billion.

The Lawfare Factor

Many of these tunnels reportedly run beneath civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and homes. This tactic, known as lawfare, uses protected sites to create a targeting dilemma:

If Israel strikes, it risks allegations of war crimes.
If it refrains, Hamas retains secure operational hubs.

“Hamas integrates its military network into civilian areas to ensure that any attack generates outrage,” one security consultant explained. “It’s designed to force Israel into losing either militarily or in the court of global opinion.

Why So Many Hospitals?

The content creator and cybersecurity specialist Ryan McBeth offers a well-imaged analysis among the hospital situation in Gaza, based on Middle-East scholars. According to it, analysts believe the number itself is part of the strategy. Multiple small hospitals mean more opportunities for headlines and sustained global pressure.

“If you have three major hospitals and they’re all destroyed, that’s three news cycles,” the consultant explained. “With 36 smaller ones, each incident can dominate headlines for weeks.”

This approach, experts warn, turns hospitals into both humanitarian lifelines and deliberate flashpoints in a war fought as much in the media as on the ground.

The Bigger Picture

This tactic, known as lawfare, could shape future conflicts. It blends humanitarian infrastructure with military objectives, turning global perception into a battlefield of its own.