Only Hospital In Central Gaza To Close In 48 Hours If Fuel Not Supplied

The Gaza government warned on Friday that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip would run out of fuel within 48 hours, threatening to halt health services and spark a humanitarian crisis following Israel's sixth day of closing border crossings into the besieged enclave.

"The administration of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central governorate announced that fuel is about to run out within the next 48 hours, thus halting health and medical services," the Gaza media office said in a statement.

It added that "the cessation of fuel supply to the last hospital providing health services in the Gaza Strip comes after the destruction of the health sector and the medical system by the occupation (Israel), and the closure of 33 hospitals from service completely."

The office held Israel, the US, and all relevant parties fully responsible "for any catastrophe or real crisis that may occur at any moment due to the depletion of fuel at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital."

It cautioned that "this crisis may result in deaths of patients and children, especially patients and wounded individuals admitted to intensive care units and nurseries."

The office urged the UN organizations and international institutions to urgently supply fuel to the hospital before it is too late.

It also called for immediate action to supply all hospitals with fuel, rehabilitate, and repair them before a humanitarian catastrophe claims the lives of thousands of Palestinians.

Israeli forces have closed the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing with Gaza for the sixth day in a row, while the Rafah crossing between the Strip and Egypt has remained closed for the fourth day after being declared under control on Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army claimed that it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing after closing it on Sunday to deliver aid to Gaza in response to a request from US President Joe Biden, but the Gaza Crossing Authority denied this.

Since the closure of the crossings, no humanitarian aid, fuel, medications, or medical supplies have entered Gaza, posing a threat of a humanitarian catastrophe, according to warnings from UN and Palestinian official sources.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion last year that killed about 1,200 people.

Tel Aviv's war has since killed more than 34,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while some 78,500 others have been injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into Israel's genocidal war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory.

It also ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and asked it to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to Gaza's civilians.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala -