DaysofPal- Hospitals in the besieged Gaza Strip are facing an unprecedented crisis as fuel shortages threaten to halt essential medical services, the Ministry of Health warned on Tuesday. Officials said the situation could endanger the lives of thousands of patients and wounded civilians amid Israel’s ongoing military offensive that has targeted Gaza since October 7, 2023.
“The fuel shortage crisis in the remaining operating hospitals in Gaza is entering an extremely dangerous phase,” the ministry stated on its official Facebook page. “We are only a few days away from hospitals shutting down. Vital departments could stop functioning, putting patients and the wounded at immediate risk of death.”
Technical and engineering measures designed to ration fuel have proven ineffective due to the near-complete cessation of supplies, the ministry added. It renewed an urgent appeal to the international community and all concerned parties to intervene and ensure fuel reaches hospitals to prevent an impending health catastrophe.
The crisis has already forced the closure of two hospitals in Gaza City, the ministry reported on Monday. Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital suffered severe damage from Israeli shelling, while ongoing ground assaults, including tank movements deep into Gaza City, have further disrupted medical services.
According to the Ministry of Health, Israel is deliberately obstructing the World Health Organization’s efforts to deliver fuel to hospitals, particularly in Gaza and northern areas.
“The occupation insists on preventing WHO from using alternative methods to deliver fuel, deliberately undermining Gaza’s health system as part of its policy of genocide,” the ministry said.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has emphasized that fuel is essential for operating emergency rooms, ambulances, and water pumping and desalination stations. The UN has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to allow sufficient quantities of fuel into Gaza to sustain critical services.
Since October 7, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on Gaza, blocking medicines, medical supplies, and fuel, and cutting electricity completely. While limited aid has trickled in through a controlled mechanism, hospitals remain on the verge of collapse, with patients and the wounded facing life-threatening conditions.
International actors, including Canada, France, Germany, and other Western and European nations, have pledged financial support, medical personnel, and equipment to help treat Gaza’s patients. Yet the ongoing blockade and military assaults continue to threaten the survival of the Strip’s already fragile health system.
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