Fuel Shortages Imperil Gaza’s Healthcare
In the dimly lit corridors of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, mobile phone torches have become as essential as stethoscopes for doctors conducting rounds without functioning generators. The hospital, like many others in the besieged territory, is struggling to cope with a severe fuel shortage that has been exacerbated by over 10 months of war.
Ayman Zaqout, a patient who managed to reach the hospital, was dismayed to find that he would be treated mostly in the dark. “There was no electricity, and I don’t know how they will be able to treat me in these circumstances,” he told AFPTV, grimacing from pain as he battled renal colic.
The hospital was forced to stop accepting new patients after international organizations stopped supplying it with fuel for its generators. Doctor Mahmoud Abu Amsha warned that the fuel shortages could soon prove deadly, particularly for children in incubators and patients in the intensive care unit.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed 40,265 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Gaza’s 2.4 million people, nearly all of whom have been displaced at least once, have only 16 hospitals still functioning, all of them partially. The lack of fuel has made it difficult for medics to respond to emergencies, and Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza is desperately waiting for a fuel delivery to restart its generators.
“We closed some services and postponed operations two days ago. This puts the sick and wounded at risk,” said Mohammed Salha, the hospital’s acting director. Since then, the hospital has been providing only the minimum service, thanks to donations from other hospitals.
The UN rights office has said that most of the dead are women and children. The ongoing conflict has taken a devastating toll on Gaza’s healthcare system, and the fuel shortages are only exacerbating the crisis.
