Crisis in Gaza: Hospitals Running on Verge of Collapse due to Fuel Shortage

2023-11-13 12:33:00

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in the Hamas government, Yousef Abu Al-Rish, told Agence France-Presse on Monday that hospitals in the Gaza Governorate, north of the Strip, are out of service with a power outage due to a shortage of fuel.

Doctor Abu Al-Rish spoke of “the death of six premature babies and nine patients in intensive care” while confrontations were taking place between the Israeli army and the Palestinian “Hamas” movement in the northern Gaza Strip, where Israeli tanks were tightening the cordon around Gaza City and its hospitals in particular, accusing “Hamas” of being stationed there. .

But the death toll appeared to have risen, with the Hamas Ministry of Health announcing on Monday followingnoon that the death toll since Saturday had reached “27 patients in intensive care and 7 premature newborns due to a power outage.”

The situation is especially critical in Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital institution in the Gaza Strip.

Youssef Abu Al-Rish, who is in the hospital, which houses “regarding 20,000 displaced people,” told Agence France-Presse that the power outage was behind the deaths of the six children and nine patients.

On Saturday, the hospital announced that it had 39 premature babies and that nurses were resorting to “manual breathing massage” to keep them alive.

A doctor from the non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders also indicated that there were 17 patients in intensive care in the hospital.

UNRWA

Thomas White, Director of the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Monday that the humanitarian operation in Gaza will stop during the next 48 hours because fuel is not allowed to enter the Strip.

He also said in a tweet on the “X” platform that two water distribution contractors contracted with UNRWA stopped working this morning following they ran out of fuel. He explained that this would deprive 200,000 people of drinking water.

Earlier today, UNRWA had said that the exposure of an agency guesthouse in southern Gaza to Israeli raids yesterday was “the latest indication that there is no safe place in the Strip,” noting that the targeting was by the Israeli Navy.

UNRWA added in a statement published on its official website that “ignoring the protection of civilian infrastructure, including UN facilities, hospitals, schools and shelters, is evidence of the horror that civilians in Gaza experience daily.”

The international United Nations employees present in Rafah had left the building 90 minutes before the targeting.

UN buildings and facilities currently host approximately 780,000 displaced people, and the statement stressed that “they should be protected at all times.”

Jordan

Official media said on Monday that Jordanian King Abdullah rejects any plans for Israel to occupy parts of the Gaza Strip or establish security zones within the Strip.

In statements at the Royal Palace, the Jordanian king told senior politicians he met that there might be no “military or security solution” to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

He added that the Gaza Strip should not be separated by Israel from the rest of the Palestinian territories.

A United Airlines spokesman said on Monday that the company will not resume its flights to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv from Newark, New Jersey, on November 24.

The company apologized for the news regarding the resumption of service, which it attributed to an error on the part of its public relations agency.

The company added that its flights to Tel Aviv will remain suspended until conditions are suitable for its resumption.

To restart the generators, there is an urgent need for fuel, which is becoming increasingly scarce due to the “permeable blockade” imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7.

The 2.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip live under the threat of a complete power outage, with the Ministry of Communications’ generators also expected to stop working on Thursday.

Doctors posted scenes on the Internet showing them working by candlelight and flashlights, or only by cell phone lights, due to power outages in hospitals.

– At least 8,000 liters –

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday evening that he “offered to provide some fuel to the army to meet the urgent needs of Al-Shifa Hospital,” but “Hamas leadership prevents the hospital from receiving fuel.”

In night photos published by the Israeli army on Sunday evening on the “X” website, soldiers can be seen placing cans near a building.

Muhammad Abu Salamiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, told Agence France-Presse: “The (Israeli) army called me twice and said that fuel would be provided to the hospital at the Akila station, which is 500 meters away from the hospital… He initially informed me that he would provide 2,000 liters, then he backed down and said Only 300 liters, provided it does not reach Hamas.”

He added: “I told them, if you want to help, we need at least 8,000 liters to operate the main generators and save hundreds of sick and injured people. Then they refused and we do not know what the situation is… We appeal to provide fuel to save the hospital.”

Outside the hospitals, Abu Al-Rish spoke of “dozens of martyrs and hundreds of injured, and no one can reach them because of the shooting at ambulances.”

He added: “The situation is dangerous and we are receiving reports of women who were forced to give birth in the street or at home without midwives.”

For several days, the Israeli army has said that it has opened safe corridors to allow displaced people to leave hospitals.

In response, Abu Al-Rish said: “All patients and medical staff were evacuated and Al-Rantisi Hospital was completely emptied (Sunday) under the threat of gunfire from the army.”

Qatar

The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation’s bombing of the headquarters of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza.”

She stressed “the need for the international community to act urgently to hold Israel accountable for its repeated crimes.”

It called on “the occupation to stop providing flimsy justifications for targeting health facilities and civilian objects.”

44 soldiers were killed in Gaza

The Israeli army announced on Monday the killing of two additional soldiers in northern Gaza, bringing to 44 the total number of deaths among its ranks in the Palestinian Strip since October 7.

An army spokesman told Agence France-Presse that 44 soldiers were killed “inside Gaza during the war,” which began following an unprecedented Hamas attack inside Israel.

The war broke out following an unprecedented attack launched by Hamas inside Israeli territory. About 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, most of them on the first day.

In response, Israel launched an attack that it says aims to “eliminate” the Islamic movement. It has been bombing the Gaza Strip without stopping since then, leaving a catastrophic humanitarian situation.

On the Palestinian side, the war left 11,180 dead, most of them civilians, including 4,609 children, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

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