Gaza, Nov. 2, (dpa/GNA) - Sixteen of the 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are no longer able to treat patients due to a lack of fuel, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Thursday, adding that the remaining hospitals can only provide very limited standards of care.
Israel’s continuing blockade has cut off Gaza from fuel, electricity and water supplies. Fuel is needed for the hospital generators to produce backup electricity.
Many of Gaza’s internally displaced have also sought refuge in the hospitals because of the fierce Israeli attacks in response to the Hamas massacres on October 7.
According to UN figures, there are now 1.4 million displaced people in the narrow coastal strip of more than 2.2 million people.
Fuel is “desperately needed for the deployment of life-saving equipment,” the UN emergency office OCHA said on Thursday.
Israel is not allowing the import of fuel into Gaza because it fears it will be used by Hamas for military purposes. For example, the fuel is used by the Islamist movement to ventilate the underground tunnel system from which Israeli soldiers could be attacked.
Israel also accuses Hamas of hoarding fuel that could be used by the ailing healthcare system.
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
GNA