Hospitals across Israel are facing extreme overcrowding, leaving internal medicine departments, emergency rooms and pediatric wards with no available beds, according to data obtained by Maariv.
For example, at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, internal medicine departments are at over 100% capacity, and emergency rooms are at a staggering 200%.
The Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva reports a 116% capacity in its internal medicine wards. Meanwhile, internal medicine wards at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv are at 110% capacity. Hospitals such as Assaf Harofeh, Meir in Kfar Saba, and Sheba Medical Center are also fully occupied, reporting 100% capacity. Pediatric wards across the country are similarly filled to 100%.
Patients in hallways and cafeterias
In light of this extreme overcrowding, hospital staff have been forced to implement temporary solutions, which unfortunately have become routine during the winter season.
Patients are being hospitalized in hallways and, sometimes, even in hospital cafeterias. This has created a situation in emergency rooms where patients often wait for hours—sometimes over 10—before a bed in an internal medicine ward becomes available.
A significant proportion of the hospitalized patients have contracted influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), or pneumococcal bacteria, which cause severe respiratory infections and pneumonia. Critically ill patients have deteriorated in several hospitals and required treatment with ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines, which temporarily replace the function of the heart and lungs.
The peak is yet to come
Despite the current overwhelming situation, data from the Health Ministry indicates that Israel has not yet reached the peak of the amount of illnesses in the winter. Surveillance reports show a sharp rise in cases, though overall infection rates are still about 60% of what was observed during last winter’s peak, which suggests that the worst is yet to come.
Additionally, vaccination rates for influenza and other respiratory infections remain alarmingly low this year, standing at just 30%.
“We are collapsing under the pressure and feeling helpless toward our patients,” said a resident doctor at a central Israel internal medicine department.
“Every winter, the same story repeats itself. Staffing levels are already critically low, and now some doctors are on reserve military duty, others are sick themselves, or are home taking care of sick children. We have no space to admit patients, and we’re just praying we don’t make mistakes under these impossible conditions. It’s disheartening that healthcare isn’t a government priority. Every winter, we see the same heartbreaking scenes: elderly patients in hallways and exhausted, demoralized staff.”
“There is a significant increase in the number of complex cases, among both younger and older patients,” noted Alona Agratchev, Director of Nursing for the Internal Medicine Division at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center.
“We do everything we can to ensure they receive the best care, but the load is immense. We have patients in hallways, and it’s emotionally difficult. Seeing an elderly patient in a corridor—she could be my mother or my neighbor. It’s heartbreaking.”
Agratchev also offered advice to the public: “Don’t go to work or school if you’re sick, don’t wait until your condition worsens, and most importantly, get vaccinated for flu and other recommended vaccines.”