Gaza Hospitals Face Crisis as Fuel Shortages Threaten Lives

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza, according to Abu Selmia, who accused Israel of restricting fuel supplies to hospitals. The Israeli military aid coordination agency, COGAT, did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the fuel shortages and their impact on patients.

Abu Selmia reported that the dialysis department at Al Shifa Hospital had been closed to protect critical areas like the intensive care unit and operating rooms, which require constant electricity. He also highlighted the dire situation of approximately 100 premature babies in Gaza City hospitals, whose lives are at significant risk. The number of incubators in northern Gaza has drastically decreased, from 110 before the conflict to around 40 currently.

The lack of fuel threatens to cripple essential hospital functions. Abu Selmia warned that oxygen stations would fail, labs and blood banks would shut down, and blood supplies would be ruined, potentially turning the hospital into a place of death.

The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis is also facing a fuel crisis. The hospital needs 4,500 liters of fuel daily but currently has only 3,000 liters, according to hospital spokesperson Mohammed Sakr. Doctors are forced to perform surgeries without electricity or air conditioning, with staff sweat dripping into patients' wounds.

Earlier this year, Israel imposed a complete blockade on Gaza for nearly three months, later partially lifting it while implementing a US and Israeli-backed aid system that largely bypasses the UN. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid, a claim Hamas denies.

James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson recently returned from Gaza, emphasized that even the best medical staff are helpless without essential supplies, medicines, and now, even basic electricity.

The recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in October 2023, following an attack on southern Israel by Hamas-led militants, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Gaza's health ministry reports that Israel's response has resulted in over 57,000 Palestinian deaths. The conflict has also caused a hunger crisis, displaced almost the entire population of Gaza, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, including from the United Nations.