The director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Selmiya, has warned that hospitals may soon become mass graves within hours due to the acute shortage of fuel required to operate electricity generators, amid the ongoing severe blockade imposed by the occupation on the Strip.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Abu Selmiya stated that they have no more than 1,000 litres of fuel available per day, while the minimum needed to operate critical departments exceeds 1,500 litres.
The medical staff have been forced to shut down the dialysis unit, depriving more than 350 patients of treatment. Generators are now only operating in the intensive care unit and surgical department, despite the continued bombardment.
Abu Selmiya explained that any further delay in fuel delivery will lead to the certain death of 13 patients in intensive care and 17 babies in neonatal units, in addition to the wounded who are awaiting emergency operations.
Since 2 March, the occupation has deliberately closed all border crossings to the Strip and blocked the entry of fuel and aid, causing thousands of lorries to pile up at the border. At the same time, it has allowed in quantities that do not meet even a single day’s needs. This deliberate closure has drained the essentials of life and deeply damaged the health sector.
By systematically targeting hospitals, the occupation has violated a core legal principle of armed conflict, which mandates the protection of medical facilities and prohibits attacking or obstructing their operation. International law, through customary rules and the Geneva Conventions, forbids the use of siege and starvation as means to weaken or coerce civilians, especially when coupled with denial of healthcare.
This siege has brought healthcare services to a near standstill. Around 85% of operating rooms at Al-Shifa Hospital are out of service, with only 45 of the original 312 still functioning, and that with extremely limited resources. This has coincided with overcrowding beyond capacity in inpatient wards and intensive care, amid a sharp rise in critical injuries.
The crisis has worsened due to a severe shortage of blood units, with monthly demand exceeding 10,000 units. Meanwhile, 90% of the population are now unable to donate due to hunger and malnutrition. This crisis is the direct result of a deliberate policy that has targeted both the healthcare and food systems, leaving no doubt about the existence of a comprehensive intent to destroy.
Under external pressure, the occupation authorities permitted the entry of just 2,900 units of blood, an amount that, according to Gaza’s medical staff, will not last more than a week. This limited delivery was a token gesture that does not alter the core reality, as hospitals are left to collapse under bombardment, thirst, and lack of supplies.
The occupation has continued to target populated areas, resulting in the killing of at least 80 Palestinians, including women and children, in airstrikes on Tuesday alone, according to medical sources. This escalation has placed further pressure on hospitals, which are now unable to receive more wounded patients.
Since October 2023, the occupation has waged a campaign of genocide against the population of the Gaza Strip, combining mass killings, systematic starvation, and the widespread destruction of infrastructure, including hospitals and medical facilities. It has adopted a repeated pattern of targeting healthcare centres, leaving no room to interpret these actions as anything other than a deliberate intent to eliminate the civilian population by denying them treatment and the means to survive.
The number of Palestinian dead and injured has exceeded 191,000, the majority of whom are women and children. Thousands of bodies remain trapped beneath the rubble, while hundreds of thousands face displacement, hunger, and slow death.
The targeting of hospitals and the draining of their resources cannot be separated from this broader context. It is a central component of the systematic campaign of mass killing aimed at crushing every trace of life within the besieged Strip.
