Dozens of Gaza patients may die because of fuel shortage caused by Israeli siege

Ma'an - The director of Gaza City's Dar Ash-Shifa Hospital warned Monday that dozens of patients in the hospital's care may die as a result of a fuel shortage.

Hospital director Hussein Ashour told Ma'an that only 16,000 liters of fuel remained but that generators consume 7,000 liters daily. The generators will not supply electricity to the hospital in case of a power cut, he warned.

"We try to supply electricity to the wards which need it desperately, such as intensive care, operating rooms, dialysis wards, the cardiac unit and oxygen suppliers," he added.

On 8 August, Gaza's hospitals declared a state of emergency following the shutdown of the Strip's sole power station a day earlier. At the time, director of ambulance and emergency services Muawiya Hassanein warned of a potential humanitarian disaster as a result of the blackout, resulting from an ongoing fuel shortage.

He warned of a severe deterioration in heath services, particularly in children's hospitals, maternity wards, intensive care units and for patients requiring dialysis and premature babies in incubators.

The Palestinian NGO Network said Wednesday that 600,000 liters of industrial diesel were delivered to Gaza, providing relief for residents as the fuel shortage lead to the sole power station's closure two weeks ago.

The delivery followed an announcement made by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday, explaining that the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company transferred $2 million to the account of the Ramallah-based energy authority, prompting the supplier company to transfer 320,000 liters of diesel per day for five days starting Wednesday.