Dr Mohammad Abu Salmiya, Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, has warned that the hospital is hours away from complete shutdown due to the depletion of fuel. The closure of Al-Khidma Hospital has already been confirmed, and Al-Helou Hospital is expected to cease all medical services within four hours if no emergency fuel is delivered.

“This is a death sentence for hundreds of patients,” said Dr Abu Salmiya, highlighting the critical threat to life-saving units such as ICUs, neonatal incubators, dialysis machines, and operating theatres. He added that most hospitals in Gaza are unlikely to continue beyond tomorrow under the current conditions.

The Ministry of Health issued an urgent appeal today, describing the daily struggle for survival faced by patients as fuel shortages cripple Gaza’s hospitals. The Israeli occupation, the Ministry stated, is deliberately restricting fuel entry, allowing only minimal quantities that are insufficient to keep essential medical departments running.

As a result, hospitals have resorted to drastic measures, including shutting off power to entire wards and delaying critical treatments. Ambulance services have also been severely impacted, forcing families to transport patients in animal-drawn carts, risking lives along the way.

Patients reliant on life support are now in imminent danger, with medical teams battling against time, heat, and power failures to keep them alive. The Ministry stressed that this is a manufactured catastrophe, entirely preventable and driven by policies designed to break the population.

Since 7 October 2023, Israel, backed by the United States, has waged a devastating war on Gaza. Marked by mass killings, forced displacement, and starvation, the assault has ignored international calls and binding rulings from the International Court of Justice demanding a halt.

To date, over 195,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured, the vast majority of them women and children. Thousands more remain missing under the rubble. Entire communities have been displaced, and a famine continues to spread, claiming the lives of children every day.