Fuel Crisis Puts Gaza Hospitals on Verge of Collapse
Hospitals in Gaza are facing a looming humanitarian disaster as severe fuel shortages threaten to shut down critical medical services, including oxygen stations, neonatal care, and surgical operations.
Doctors at Al Shifa Medical Center in Gaza City are sounding the alarm, warning that the lives of hundreds of patients — including premature babies — are in grave danger. “We are forced to place four or five babies in one incubator,” said Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital’s director. “The situation is beyond critical.”
Despite claims by an Israeli military official that 160,000 litres of fuel have been delivered to Gaza since Wednesday, medical professionals on the ground say the trickle of supplies is insufficient and poorly distributed. The Israeli official added that fuel allocation is managed by U.N. agencies and not by Israel.
Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director general of the Gaza Ministry of Health, described the crisis as a “siege choking the entry of fuel,” turning hospitals into “silent graveyards.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has echoed these concerns, stating that only half of Gaza’s 36 general hospitals are even partially functional. The health sector, it said, is “on its knees.”
Fuel Shortage Pushes Gaza Hospitals to the Brink Amid Ongoing Siege
At Al Shifa, the dialysis unit has been shut down to conserve power for intensive care and operating rooms. “A hospital without oxygen is no longer a hospital,” Dr. Abu Selmia said, warning that lab services, blood banks, and surgical units are all at risk of total shutdown.
In Khan Younis, the Nasser Medical Complex is also struggling. “We need 4,500 litres of fuel per day. We have only 3,000,” said hospital spokesperson Mohammed Sakr. He added that surgeries are being performed in unbearable conditions — without electricity or air conditioning — as staff sweat into open wounds.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss Israeli hostages, medical personnel in Gaza pleaded for international intervention to prevent the collapse of the healthcare system.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, recently back from Gaza, emphasized the desperation: “You can have the best hospital staff on the planet, but if they are denied the medicines, painkillers, and even the very means to keep the lights on, it becomes impossible.”
Israel maintains that Hamas exploits medical facilities for military operations — a claim Hamas denies. Israel also accuses the group of diverting aid, prompting a recent shift to a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid scheme that bypasses U.N. channels.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the conflict has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population, and triggered severe food shortages. Israel denies allegations of genocide and war crimes.
As the war enters its 21st month, overwhelmed medics fear that unless fuel access improves immediately, Gaza’s hospitals may soon become morgues.
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