The Palestinian National Mental Health policy was developed in 2004, revised in 2010, and approved by the Ministry of Health in Gaza in 2011. The policy focused on reducing reliance on institutionalization and hospitals in dealing with mental health in Palestine by developing community-based mental health care, downsizing psychiatric hospitals, and developing psychiatric reception units in primary health care centers. As a result, the number of beds in the Gaza Psychiatric Hospital decreased by 17%, between 2010-2015.

The Gaza Strip suffers year-round from medication shortages, especially psychiatric medications[2]. Due to the age and small size of the Gaza Psychiatric Hospital, the Ministry of Health began preparing to establish a larger hospital under the name Aman Palestine, in 2021. The project was funded and supported by the Aman Malaysia Charitable Foundation, and was expected to open in 2023, however, this did not happen[3]. 

In addition to the hospital's small capacity, it also suffers from a shortage of staff and specialists in the field of psychotherapy. As a result, retired specialists are employed, providing a ratio of one psychiatrist per bed in the hospital. The shortage of psychiatrists and staff is one of the main challenges facing the hospital and this challenge is exacerbated by the reliance of the mental health system in the Gaza on biomedical and pharmaceutical treatment rather than focusing on social and psychological factors in treatment[4]. 

Gaza also suffers from the lack of emergency psychiatric units in public hospitals and the reliance on the psychiatric hospital to provide tertiary care, leading to an exacerbation the pressure on the hospital[2]. 

In February 2018: The crisis in health, water, and sanitation services worsened and was on the brink of collapse due to electricity shortages, prompting the Ministry of Health to take drastic precautionary measures, including the temporary closure of the Gaza Psychiatric Hospital[5].