'Biggest disaster': Gaza infants' lives at risk amid fuel shortages

Middle East Eye

5 days ago

Palestinian infants reliant on incubators in Gaza are fighting for their lives amid a critical fuel shortage, exacerbated by Israel's increasingly stringent blockade on aid and essential supplies.
For several days, hospitals and humanitarian agencies in Gaza have issued urgent appeals for international intervention to secure fuel deliveries, as shortages continue to paralyse vital services for over two million Palestinians.
Multiple healthcare centres have warned that operations may grind to a halt, with Israel maintaining restrictions on fuel entering the besieged territory, further straining an already overwhelmed healthcare system.
Mohammed Tabaja, head of the paediatric ward at al-Helou Hospital in Gaza City, said the facility is '100 per cent dependent on the generator'.
His department is responsible for the intensive care of newborns weighing less than 1.5 kilograms, as well as infants suffering from oxygen deprivation and congenital abnormalities, all of whom require uninterrupted electricity.
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'We have a problem in the nursery ward: there is no uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The motor shuts down every two hours due to the fuel shortage. When that happens, the electricity cuts out,' he explained, noting that the hospital currently relies entirely on generators.
'This impacts the babies' lives, as we must restart the ventilators and CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] machines, all of which require electricity. We've been requesting a UPS for three months, but there are no batteries available in Gaza,' he told MEE.
Incubators in the ward are still operating, however, the paediatric department is severely overcrowded, with 12 incubators used for at least 22 cases - an occupancy rate exceeding 180 percent (MEE/Ahmed Dremly)
Tabaja said that while the incubators in the ward remain operational for now, the department is severely overcrowded and operating beyond capacity, with 12 incubators being used for at least 22 cases, an occupancy rate of more than 180 percent.
The paediatric specialist notes a significant increase in premature births and underweight infants as a consequence of the ongoing war.
He explained that the extreme stress of the situation has led to growing levels of malnutrition among pregnant women, resulting in a higher incidence of premature deliveries.
'The department faces persistent issues with oxygen, air, and electricity supplies, all of which directly affect the lives of the children. Last month and the month before, we lost infants due to these shortages,' he said.
'Our fear is that we will reach the point where there's no electricity'
- Mohammed Tabaja, head paediatric, al-Helou Hospital
'Fuel is critical, as electricity is not available 24 hours a day. We do not have an oxygen generator and instead rely on manually operated oxygen cylinders.
"This places an enormous burden on staff and creates further shortages. If a cylinder runs out, it could endanger a child's life,' he added.
Dr Ziad al-Masry, a fellow paediatrician at al-Helou Hospital, warned that the lives of 22 infants are currently at risk due to the fuel shortage, which has caused power outages that disrupt artificial respiration and modern monitoring systems.
'Without this equipment, caring for the children becomes extremely difficult - and in some cases, impossible - as many are directly connected to ventilators,' he said.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, municipal authorities in central and southern Gaza announced the suspension of essential public services due to what they described as 'the complete interruption of fuel' required to operate vital equipment.
The halted services include 'water well operations, sanitation, waste collection, rubble removal, and the use of heavy machinery to open roads.
'The occupation's continued refusal to allow the entry of fuel, despite repeated appeals, has brought municipal services to a standstill, even as local authorities attempt to maintain a minimum level of operations under extraordinary circumstances,' the statement concluded.
Manual intervention and lack of aid
Last week, the UN confirmed that Israel permitted a limited shipment of fuel into Gaza, the first in over four months. However, the 75,000-litre delivery was far from sufficient, failing to cover even a single day's needs.
Moreover, Israel has been severely limiting the flow of life-saving aid delivery into the besieged enclave - including nutritional relief and medical supplies.
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Tabaja said that the paediatric ward is facing critical shortages of oxygen, compressed air, electricity, infant formula, and nappies.
'The Ministry of Health used to provide eight nappies per child per day. Now we receive just one or two, meaning we're forced to keep a child in the same nappy for 24 hours," he explained.
"Our fear is that we will reach the point where there's no electricity supply for the department at all, and that would be the biggest disaster," he added.
Masry echoed the urgent need for essential supplies to enter Gaza.
He stated that repeated requests for fuel had been made to international organisations, including Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), but to no avail.
'The siege has only worsened over the past two months. No fuel or baby formula has reached our hospital in nearly four months.'
Due to the fuel crisis, the paediatric unit has been forced to increase staffing and rely on manual respiratory support to keep newborns alive, a method he stressed is not a substitute for mechanical ventilation.
"We are relying on manual intervention until fuel is restored, and this has had a significant impact on the lives of the infants."