Dozens of premature babies at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza are facing risk of death as critical fuel and electricity shortages cripple life-saving medical equipment.
With fuel running low, electricity outages looming, and oxygen depleting, the hospital's vital equipment has shut down one by one, putting the lives of dozens of premature babies, who are entirely dependent on ventilators and incubators, at risk of death at any moment.
Resident Mohammed Natiez left the delivery room carrying his daughter, who had just died, with tears filling his eyes.
Days earlier, his wife, in her seventh month of pregnancy, had sustained severe injuries from an Israeli airstrike. She was rescued from under the rubble and rushed to Al-Shifa Hospital. Doctors performed an emergency C-section for her.
However, as soon as the baby girl was transferred to the nursery, they faced a new crisis—there was no fuel left in the hospital to power the medical equipment. The medical staff had no choice but to place five or six premature babies together in the same incubator or use blankets to keep them warm manually.
Yet, these makeshift methods could never meet the needs of preterm infants—constant warmth, a sterile environment, and a steady oxygen supply.
In the end, Mohammed's daughter passed away.
"It was the lack of fuel that killed my daughter. If there was fuel, she would still be alive. We are just sitting in the tent. Tell me, what could a child like this have done (to deserve this)?" said Natiez.
What is happening at Al-Shifa Hospital is just a reflection of the complete collapse of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.
The director-general of the Gaza Health Ministry recently warned that the greatest threat to the lives of premature infants is the blockade on fuel.
He added that the fuel shortage has deprived the most vulnerable of their fundamental right to healthcare, turning hospitals into silent graveyards.
"There are many more babies like my daughter who could die because of the fuel shortage. Please, send fuel to the hospital. This should not have happened. Send fuel to the hospital, to the children," Natiez said.
Premature infants face risk of death as Gaza fuel crisis worsens
