Israel - Hamas War : Gaza's hospitals treating emergency cases only as fuel runs low
The UN reports that hospitals in the Gaza Strip are only accepting emergency cases due to concerns that gasoline supplies may run out throughout the region in the next few hours. Additionally, 600,000 displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter in UN facilities, overflowing them four times over.
For the second day in a row, more than 700 Palestinians have reportedly died as a result of Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is managed by Hamas. According to the Israeli military, it is going for Hamas fighters and infrastructure. It started attacking Hamas, which the US, israel, the UK, and other countries consider to be a terrorist outfit, in retaliation for an extraordinary cross-border attack on october 7 that resulted in at least 1,400 fatalities and the kidnapping of 222 more.
Additionally, israel is preventing fresh fuel supplies to Gaza on the grounds that Hamas would steal and use them for military gain. It claims that instead of sharing its hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel, Hamas has been hoarding it. At Gaza's major hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, BBC's Rushdi Abu Alouf reports that hospitals throughout the territory closed all departments on wednesday except for emergency rooms.
He claims that this is being done in order to save fuel, which is needed to run life-saving devices like renal dialysis machines, ventilators, and incubators for newborns. "The hospitals are in a state of complete collapse," AFP was informed by Mohammed Abu Selmeya, the director of Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza.
For the second day in a row, more than 700 Palestinians have reportedly died as a result of Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is managed by Hamas. According to the Israeli military, it is going for Hamas fighters and infrastructure. It started attacking Hamas, which the US, israel, the UK, and other countries consider to be a terrorist outfit, in retaliation for an extraordinary cross-border attack on october 7 that resulted in at least 1,400 fatalities and the kidnapping of 222 more.
Additionally, israel is preventing fresh fuel supplies to Gaza on the grounds that Hamas would steal and use them for military gain. It claims that instead of sharing its hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel, Hamas has been hoarding it. At Gaza's major hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, BBC's Rushdi Abu Alouf reports that hospitals throughout the territory closed all departments on wednesday except for emergency rooms.
He claims that this is being done in order to save fuel, which is needed to run life-saving devices like renal dialysis machines, ventilators, and incubators for newborns. "The hospitals are in a state of complete collapse," AFP was informed by Mohammed Abu Selmeya, the director of Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza.
Prior to this, Dr. richard Peeperkorn, a representative of the World health Organisation, informed the BBC that hospitals receiving funding from the UN organisation were using generators "at minimum levels only for life-saving operations".
Israel cut off Gaza's energy supply after Hamas launched its attacks. After its only power plant ran out of fuel on october 11, the region was forced to rely on backup generators.
Doctors and relief workers in Gaza caution that if vital equipment breaks down due to a lack of energy, more people may perish. The major humanitarian operation in Gaza is managed by Unrwa, a UN organisation for Palestinian refugees. If it does not get more fuel supplies, Unrwa says it will have to suspend all of its activities in Gaza on wednesday night.
Israel cut off Gaza's energy supply after Hamas launched its attacks. After its only power plant ran out of fuel on october 11, the region was forced to rely on backup generators.
Doctors and relief workers in Gaza caution that if vital equipment breaks down due to a lack of energy, more people may perish. The major humanitarian operation in Gaza is managed by Unrwa, a UN organisation for Palestinian refugees. If it does not get more fuel supplies, Unrwa says it will have to suspend all of its activities in Gaza on wednesday night.