Gaza hospitals on the brink as fuel runs out and patients overflow

Shafaq News

a day ago

Gaza's health system is on the verge of total collapse, with fuel reserves nearly depleted and consistent resupply blocked, leading to severe overcrowding, makeshift hospital wards, and a growing threat to thousands of lives.
Hospital corridors are packed with the wounded, as bed occupancy rates, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, have reached alarming levels: 300% at the Arab Ahli Hospital, 240% at Al-Shifa, 210% at Al-Rantisi, and 180% at Nasser Hospital, forcing some facilities to build temporary tin-sheet wards to accommodate the influx. Amid soaring summer temperatures, patients are seeking shelter under trees in hospital courtyards.
Dr. Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told Shafaq News that the Israeli military has targeted Gaza's medical infrastructure since the start of the war, warning that the hospital is likely to shut down due to fuel shortages. He explained that the facility is relying entirely on power generators that consume large quantities of fuel. Severe rationing has left most departments without electricity, with limited power reserved only for critical care units, including neonatal wards.
'The lives of premature babies who depend on incubators are in immediate danger,' al-Daqran said.
Shadi Abu Armanah, an amputee injured in an Israeli strike, remarked that his wound became infected again due to the lack of electricity.
Meanwhile, the father of another patient, Zakariya al-Nabbahin, noted that his son had to be moved to the hospital courtyard because of unbearable heat indoors, adding that they have been waiting 15 days for surgical-grade platinum to arrive.
Another patient, Bashar Abu Khousa, who lost his wife and brother in a strike and suffered an amputation, has been hospitalized for 26 days, waiting for a prosthetic limb that is unavailable in Gaza. 'The overcrowding, infection risk, and lack of care make the suffering worse,' he told Shafaq News.
As of today, the death toll from the war has risen to 61,722, with 154,525 people injured. A significant number of the casualties are children, who also bear the brunt of the humanitarian crisis.
In the last 24 hours alone, eight people, including three children, died from starvation, bringing the total number of famine-related deaths to 235, with 106 of those being children.