DaysofPal- The Gaza Strip’s already collapsing healthcare system faces imminent disaster as power outages and fuel shortages paralyze medical facilities, endangering the lives of hundreds of patients, according to Palestinian health officials.
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, warned on Thursday that the continued electricity blackout poses a direct threat to patients in critical care. “If power is not restored soon, dozens of patients in vital departments will die,” he said, naming intensive care units, neonatal incubators, operating rooms, emergency departments, cardiac units, and dialysis wards as most at risk.
Al-Qudra called for the urgent provision of electric generators and fuel to maintain operations in Gaza’s remaining hospitals.
On Wednesday, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex—the largest hospital in Gaza—issued a grave alert about a looming medical catastrophe, stating that hospitals have reached complete fuel depletion, leaving them unable to sustain even minimal operations.
“We’re on the brink of total health system collapse,” Abu Salmiya said. “If Al-Shifa shuts down, we have no alternatives. Lives are on the line.”
He noted that critical units, including intensive care, neonatal care, and dialysis wards, will shut down completely, threatening the lives of over 100 premature infants, 13 ICU patients, and 350 dialysis patients who require regular treatment to survive.
Surgical operations have already halted, Abu Salmiya added, making it impossible to treat war injuries or perform emergency procedures amid a surge in injuries and the spread of infectious diseases, including meningitis.
Oxygen stations, laboratories, and blood banks are also expected to shut down imminently, turning hospitals into what Abu Salmiya called “mass graves” due to fuel shortages. He confirmed that Al-Shifa had already stopped dialysis services, and warned that conditions in northern Gaza were even more dire.
“The water shortage in Gaza has reached 90%, which is compromising hospital hygiene and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks,” he added.
Dr. Marwan al-Hams, head of field hospitals in Gaza, described the situation as “catastrophic by every standard,” warning: “The health sector is living its final hours. Hundreds may die at any moment. Wounds are increasing, epidemics are spreading, and we are powerless.”
He predicted that dozens of premature babies in incubators would die within the next two days unless power and fuel are restored, stating: “Death is advancing on the wings of darkness.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a war on Gaza that has resulted in over 194,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, the majority of them women and children. More than 10,000 remain missing, with hundreds of thousands displaced and a famine claiming the lives of many, including children.
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