Gaza’s Health System on the Brink: Over 100 Premature Babies at Risk as Fuel Runs Out
Fuel shortages caused by Israel’s blockade are pushing Gaza’s main hospitals to the edge of collapse. More than 100 premature babies, along with dialysis and ICU patients, face immediate danger.
Doctors at Nasser Hospital operate in extreme heat without electricity or ventilation, as Gaza’s health system nears total collapse. Photo: @simangeo
July 10, 2025 Hour: 5:32 am
Over 100 premature babies face imminent death in Gaza as hospitals run dangerously low on fuel, health officials warn. Israel’s ongoing blockade has devastated the territory’s healthcare system, and doctors say critical services are just hours away from shutting down.
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Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis — the largest still functioning medical centers in the besieged enclave — issued urgent appeals on Wednesday, warning that their facilities could soon become “silent graveyards” if fuel isn’t delivered immediately.
Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiyah, director of al-Shifa, said more than 100 premature infants and around 350 dialysis patients are in grave danger. “Oxygen stations will stop working. A hospital without oxygen is no longer a hospital. Labs and blood banks will shut down. Refrigerated blood units will spoil,” he said.
“The hospital will cease to be a place of healing and will become a graveyard,” he added, accusing Israel of only “trickle-feeding” fuel into Gaza. To conserve power, the dialysis department has already been shut down, while remaining energy is being redirected to intensive care units and operating rooms, where even brief blackouts can be fatal.
Conditions at Nasser Hospital in the south are similarly dire. Spokesperson Mohammed Sakr told Reuters the facility needs 4,500 litres of fuel daily, but only 3,000 remain — enough for less than 24 hours. Doctors are performing surgeries without fans or air conditioning, and sweat from exhausted staff is dripping into open wounds, increasing infection risks.
Footage shared on social media shows doctors drenched in sweat while operating under sweltering conditions. “Everything is turned off. No fans, no AC. The staff is exhausted,” one physician says in the video.
These working conditions are just one part of a larger collapse. Since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel’s relentless bombardment has crippled Gaza’s health sector. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been more than 600 attacks on healthcare facilities. Of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, only 19 remain partially operational, with 94% damaged or destroyed. Over 1,500 health workers have been killed and 185 detained by Israeli forces, according to official figures.
Marwan al-Hams, director of Gaza’s field hospitals, warned that “hundreds” could die in the coming days without fuel access — including “dozens” of premature babies who may not survive the next 48 hours. He added that wounds are worsening due to lack of treatment, and diseases such as meningitis are spreading rapidly.
“You can have the best hospital staff on the planet,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, “but without fuel and medicine, running a hospital becomes impossible.”
While Israel has recently allowed limited food shipments — distributed by a U.S.-backed agency — fuel has not been allowed into Gaza for more than four months. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the little fuel left is being used only for essential services, such as intensive care units and water desalination.
“Hospitals are rationing. Ambulances are stalling. Water systems are on the brink,” OCHA stated. “The deaths this is likely causing could soon increase sharply unless Israeli authorities allow new fuel in — urgently, regularly, and in sufficient quantities.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 57,575 people have been killed and 136,879 wounded since Israel’s military campaign began. The October 7 attacks in Israel left 1,139 people dead and over 200 taken hostage.
With generators about to shut down and no new fuel allowed in, Gaza’s hospitals are approaching total collapse. Medical teams continue to fight for lives under impossible conditions, but without electricity, supplies, or medicine, more preventable deaths are inevitable. International agencies are calling for immediate humanitarian access to prevent further mass casualties in the besieged territory.
Author: MK
Source: Al Jazeera
