Tedros Adhanom, from WHO: 14 health centers collapsed in Gaza Denis Balibouse/Portal
In recent hours, at least two specialized hospitals in the Gaza Strip have stopped working and are on the verge of collapse due to a lack of energy from fuel. The import of goods into the region has been banned since Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza following Hamas attacks on October 7.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the situation is currently affecting the main cancer hospital and, according to the Al Arabiya Network, a communications group based in Ryiad, Saudi Arabia, the Indonesian hospital.
“We urgently appeal for support to save lives,” said WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom, assuring that the cancer hospital in Gaza “is currently not operating” due to “fuel shortages and recent airstrikes in its area “. Adhanom has reiterated his dramatic calls for help for hospitalized victims, warning that 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and health facilities, as well as two specialized centers, are currently out of operation. The rest would be overloaded to more than 40% of its capacity.
The power generators at the Indonesian hospital in Gaza failed on Wednesday evening (01) due to a lack of fuel. Still, the area around the health center is crowded with residents, mostly women and children, seeking shelter in the hope that hospitals will be spared from bombings.
The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) published on its social networks a recording of a dialogue allegedly held between a Hamas representative and the management of the Indonesian hospital. In the conversation intercepted by Israeli intelligence, the hospital director and the head of medical staff appeal for fuel replenishment, while the leader of the extremist group disagrees and does not recognize the supposed higher order to help the hospital. Independent proof of the accuracy of the recording is not possible.
“This recorded conversation reveals Hamas’ exploitation of humanitarian resources,” the IDF states. “They steal the fuel and choose to keep it all for themselves,” he adds.
Israeli authorities have strictly banned the importation of fuel into Gaza as part of humanitarian aid, believing the product is used as a source of energy for underground life in the extremist group’s tunnels and as raw material to power rockets and other weapons becomes. And they believe Hamas has millions of liters of fuel stockpiled.