Alarm growing for Gaza hospitals

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said the Gaza City hospital, Red Crescent-run Al-Quds, is “no longer operational” because it has run out of fuel. Gaza’s sole power plant was forced to shut down a month ago, and Israel has barred any fuel imports, saying Hamas would use them for military purposes.

Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Red Crescent, said 6,000 people, including displaced families, patients, and staff, remained trapped in the hospital.

Alarm is growing for Gaza hospitals. “Decisive international action is needed now to secure an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and prevent further loss of life" amid attacks on health care, the UN regional directors of the World Health Organization and others said in a statement, adding that more than half of Gaza’s hospitals are closed and the rest are under “massive strain”.

“We do not want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, people seeking medical care are caught in the crossfire,” President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told ABC’s This Week.

Muhammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza, said the Health Ministry has been unable to update the death toll since Friday as medics are unable to reach areas hit by Israeli bombardment. “The situation is extremely dire,” he said. “Ambulances are unable to reach people under the rubble.” About 2.3 million Palestinians remain trapped in the besieged territory. (AP)