The Ministry of Health in Gaza called on the relevant institutions to supply hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip with fuel, to save the lives of the wounded and sick before it is too late. Pictures taken from Kamal Adwan Hospital showed the suffering of children inside the intensive care units due to running out of fuel.
For its part, the Palestine Red Crescent Society announced – today, Friday – that all of its ambulances in the northern Gaza Strip have stopped working due to the exhaustion of the fuel needed to operate them, following the ongoing Israeli ground attack for the sixth day in a row, coinciding with a tight siege imposed on the governorate.
The association’s spokesman, Raed Al-Nims, said 6 ambulances were completely out of service due to running out of fuel, and the Israeli occupation prevented the entry of any quantities of fuel into the northern Gaza Strip as part of the strict siege it imposes there. He explained that this stoppage led to a paralysis in the ability to provide emergency services to the injured and sick there.
He stated that the continuation of the Israeli attack and the siege imposed on the northern Gaza Strip hindered the process of evacuating 80 patients from hospitals in the north to hospitals in Gaza City and the central and southern Gaza Strip. He added that during the past 48 hours the association brought 6 additional ambulances into the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate 80 patients, but the crisis still exists. The evacuation did not take place.
Al-Nims pointed out that the cessation of ambulances coincides with a severe shortage of medical equipment, fuel and medicines in hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, which puts the Palestinians who still live there in extreme danger.
He said that the humanitarian situation in the North Governorate is deteriorating rapidly as the Israeli siege continues. He continued, “This siege prevents the arrival of basic humanitarian, health and relief supplies to the governorate.”
Nims explained that the issuance of forced Israeli evacuation orders for the northern regions and the threats directed at residents and medical teams there caused 4 field medical points to be out of service.
He stated that hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip continue to work despite the dangerous conditions they are exposed to from Israeli threats or continued targeting of their field teams. He pointed out that the acute shortage of basic equipment and medical supplies, such as oxygen and anesthesia drugs, exacerbates the difficult conditions that hospitals are going through.
Al-Nims pointed out that the Red Crescent continues to coordinate with international bodies, such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), to try to bring medical and relief aid into the north, in light of the extremely critical situation due to the lack of fuel and necessary medical tools.
Evacuation and siege
Earlier yesterday, Thursday, Maher Shamiya, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, announced that the Israeli occupation army returned the World Health Organization delegation charged with evacuating intensive care patients and children from hospitals in the north, and did not allow it to reach the northern Gaza Strip.
As for Doctors Without Borders International said that thousands of Palestinians are trapped in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, as the Israeli army is attacking the area for the sixth day in a row, preventing entry and exit from it.
In a series of posts, through her account on the
The international organization stressed that Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for Jabalia camp on October 7, and carried out attacks at the same time, preventing Palestinians from leaving the area safely.
She pointed out that thousands of Palestinians are trapped in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, where the occupation army is attacking the area, preventing entry and exit from it, and shooting anyone who tries to do so.
For its part, Doctors Without Borders also highlighted that 5 members of its staff are trapped in the camp, amid fears for their lives.
Earlier today, Friday, the government media office in Gaza said that the situation in the hospitals of the northern governorate of the Gaza Strip has reached a catastrophic stage, threatening the lives of children in the intensive care unit, and posing a threat to the lives of 400,000 people.