Gaza’s Fuel Crisis Pushes Hospitals to Brink, Endangering Newborns and Critical Patients
In Gaza, hospitals are collapsing under a deepening fuel crisis, forcing doctors to place four premature babies in a single incubator as critical care units lose power. Medical staff are now racing against the clock, warning that without immediate fuel delivery, hundreds of lives could be lost within hours.
The Al-Ahli Hospital’s director, Dr. Fadel Naim, shared a photo Wednesday of newborns packed into one incubator at Al-Helou Hospital. “This tragic overcrowding is not just a matter of missing equipment it’s a direct consequence of the relentless war on Gaza and the suffocating blockade that has crippled the entire healthcare system,” he wrote on social media.
Gaza’s health sector is on the verge of collapse as fuel needed to power generators runs out. Flashlights now guide doctors inside darkened intensive care units. Ambulances have stalled. Water systems are failing. Hospitals are shutting down entire departments to stretch what little energy remains.
At Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, the director, Dr. Mohammad Abu Silmiya, issued a dire warning. “If the fuel is not made available in the next few hours… the hospital will become out of service in the next three hours and this will lead to high number of deaths,” he said. The hospital is treating 22 babies in incubators and hundreds of other patients requiring emergency care.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed the critical state of fuel reserves, warning that “virtually no additional accessible stocks” are available. “Hospitals are rationing. Ambulances are stalling. Water systems are on the brink. And the deaths this is likely causing could soon rise sharply unless the Israeli authorities allow new fuel in urgently, regularly and in sufficient quantities,” a statement read.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza reported its main generator failed due to lack of spare parts. A backup unit is running, but fuel will be depleted in hours. “The lives of hundreds of patients are at risk,” the hospital said in an urgent notice.
Meanwhile, the Nasser Medical Complex announced it had only 24 hours of fuel left. Officials prioritized energy for maternity and ICU wards but warned any further delay could endanger many.
The shortage also threatens vital services outside hospitals. Gaza depends on fuel for cooking, powering desalination and wastewater facilities, and operating emergency vehicles. Repeated blockades on fuel deliveries have devastated these systems.
The Israeli government has limited fuel access into Gaza throughout the war, citing concerns that militant groups could repurpose supplies for attacks. Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the agency responsible for aid approvals, has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on the current shortage.
Doctors Without Borders issued a stark statement this week, calling the situation “an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.” The organization demanded an immediate ceasefire and massive increase in humanitarian aid.
“Our teams have worked to treat the wounded and supply overwhelmed hospitals as indiscriminate attacks and a state of siege threaten millions of men, women and children,” the statement said. “We urge Israeli authorities and the complicit governments that enable these atrocities, including the UK Government, to end the siege now and take action to prevent the erasure of Palestinians from Gaza.”
The crisis follows an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid earlier this year that pushed Gaza’s population over 2 million toward famine. Limited deliveries resumed in May, but humanitarian groups say it’s not nearly enough.
As of Wednesday, Gaza’s health ministry reported growing concern not just over fuel, but the lack of replacement parts for worn-out generators. “Our main problem now is finding spare parts for the generators to replace old ones,” a spokesperson said.
Without urgent fuel access and infrastructure support, Gaza’s hospitals face imminent collapse. For its most vulnerable patients babies born into darkness and uncertainty time is running out.
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