SAFA- Gaza's Ministry of Health has warned that ambulance and medical transport services are on the verge of collapse due to a severe shortage of essential maintenance supplies, raising fears that thousands of patients could lose access to lifesaving care.

Mahmoud Hammad, Director General of Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Health, said the suspension of transport and ambulance services would further deepen the humanitarian and healthcare crisis across the besieged enclave.

He warned that hundreds of patients requiring ongoing specialist treatment, particularly those suffering from cancer and kidney disease, would be unable to reach hospitals and medical centers safely if transport services cease operating.

"Their lives would be placed at real risk," Hammad said, stressing that uninterrupted transportation is essential for ensuring continuity of care.

Hammad also noted that medical personnel across Gaza's health facilities depend primarily on ministry-contracted transport to reach their workplaces, with no viable alternative means of transportation available. Any disruption, he said, would not only affect patients but also reduce the ability of hospitals and clinics to maintain essential services.

He called on all relevant parties to intervene urgently to allow the entry of maintenance supplies for ambulances and transport buses, including engine oil, spare parts, and tires, warning that immediate action is needed to prevent a complete shutdown of transport services.

The warning comes as field reports continue to document the rapid deterioration of Gaza's ambulance fleet due to shortages of spare parts, tires, and lubricants.

Many ambulances have already been forced out of service because they are no longer able to be repaired, according to the Ministry of Health and medical professionals. Officials warn that the remaining fleet is approaching "complete paralysis" if restrictions on the entry of maintenance materials continue.

Medical staff at Nasser Medical Complex have also reported that the acute shortage of equipment and replacement parts is severely limiting ambulances' ability to respond to emergency calls and transport wounded and critically ill patients.

The warning comes as Israel's genocidal campaign continues across the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Israeli military vehicles opened fire east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, while artillery shelling targeted areas east and central of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.

The most recent daily report from the Gaza Ministry of Health states that 36 Palestinians were injured and nine Palestinians arrived at Gaza hospitals dead over the course of the previous 24 hours, including two who later died from wounds sustained in earlier attacks and seven newly killed.

The ministry said the casualties occurred as Israeli occupation forces continued, for the 291st consecutive day, to violate the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on 10 October 2025.