Doctors In Gaza Are Working In The Dark To Save Lives As Hospitals Run Out Of Electricity Due To Israel’s Siege
“We’ve been forced to carry out surgical operations on the floor. We’ve totally run of out fuel, medical supplies and medicine across all hospitals in Gaza,” a Gaza health ministry spokesperson said.
Hospitals in Gaza are on the brink of collapse as Israel continues its relentless bombardment of Gaza, including targeting hospitals and ambulances.
At least 9,488 Palestinians in Gaza have now been killed by Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, and thousands more are injured.
After Israel placed Gaza under a “complete siege” and blocked fuel, electricity and essential medicine from entering, 16 out of 35 of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip are no longer operational, according to Al Jazeera.
Others are facing severe shortages of medicine, supplies and water, with many running on back up electricity, which is rapidly running out.
Video shared on social media showed hospitals receiving patients in the dark and doctors operating on patients using only the flash light from mobile phones.
On Wednesday Nov. 1, Palestinian health authorities said the only hospital offering cancer treatment was forced to shut down after it ran out of fuel, Al Jazeera reported.
A spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry said that all remaining facilities are operating at 150% capacity.
“We’ve been forced to carry out surgical operations on the floor. We’ve totally run of out fuel, medical supplies and medicine across all hospitals in Gaza. We are expecting the number of fatalities to rise,” he said.
Since it declared war on Hamas, Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals in Gaza.
On Friday Nov. 3, Israel confirmed that it bombed a convoy of ambulances outside Al-Shifa hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza.
The attack killed at least 15 people and injured 60 others, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
A day later, it also bombed the entrance to al-Nasser Children’s Hospital and attacked power generators and solar panels at al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City, according to local media.
Israel’s military has been bombing in the immediate vicinity of al-Shifa and al-Quds hospitals in recent days, claiming that Hamas has built several military complexes under them.
The Israeli military has told both hospitals to evacuate, an order that doctors and experts say is impossible, considering the immense number of patients that are inside, including several on life support.
“Evacuating them means killing them,” a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent told Al Jazeera.
