Gaza City – Gaza's medical facilities are facing an unprecedented crisis as fuel supplies essential for their operation near exhaustion, endangering the lives of the territory's most vulnerable, particularly newborns in need of incubation.
According to Palestine news & Information Agency - WAFA, the Indonesian Hospital, a primary healthcare facility in northern Gaza, experienced a critical generator failure on Wednesday night. The hospital has since been partially operating on a secondary generator, struggling to manage the influx of casualties from the nearby Jabalia refugee camp, which suffered extensive bombardment on consecutive days. The destruction has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the displacement of thousands.
Bisan, a youth volunteer at Al-Shifa Hospital, described the dire situation through a statement released by ActionAid. The message highlighted that the hospital's incubator department, vital for the survival of newborns, is on the brink of shutdown due to the fuel shortage. Approximately 45 incubators at Al-Shifa Hospital alone are at risk, putting the infants' lives in imminent danger. These babies, only days old and born prematurely, rely on constant care provided by the incubators.
Furthermore, the ongoing conflict has forced around 117,000 people to seek refuge in hospitals across northern Gaza, which now serve as makeshift shelters. The lack of basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, and hygiene products exacerbates the suffering. The situation is worsened by the limited aid arriving through the Rafah border crossing and the inability to transport supplies due to fuel shortages and damaged infrastructure.
In a personal account from Al Quds Hospital, a woman sheltering there, referred to as Zeina for her safety, portrayed the daily struggle of the displaced. Women are resorting to using cut bottles to ration water for washing, as they have no access to adequate sanitary facilities. Clothes are washed with minimal water and hung to dry wherever possible, indicating the severity of the resource scarcity.
As the violence continues, the surrounding areas of these hospitals have also come under attack, placing additional strain on the already overwhelmed medical facilities. The Palestinian Health Ministry's call for assistance from retired medical personnel and students underscores the desperate need for support in the healthcare sector.
Riham Jafari from ActionAid Palestine warns of the catastrophic consequences that the depletion of fuel could have, not only for patients reliant on life-supporting equipment but for the entirety of the healthcare system in Gaza. Medical professionals continue to work in harrowing conditions amidst the destruction, shortage of medical supplies, and the constant threat of bombing.
The urgency for a ceasefire has been expressed by residents and volunteers alike, as the bombardment intensity in Gaza over the past 28 days has been compared to the force of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb by Bisan. The call for a cessation of hostilities is driven by the immediate need to prevent further loss of life and to allow critical humanitarian relief to reach the people of Gaza.