Lives ‘at serious risk’ as Gaza’s hospitals, homes battle fuel shortages
Doctors say hospitals have resorted to rotating power cuts between buildings, putting patients in ‘severe danger’
As power cuts cascade through one of Gaza’s largest functioning hospitals and patients wait for treatment in sweltering wards, doctors warn that shortages of engine oil and spare parts are causing generators to seize up, putting lives at risk.
The crisis is spreading beyond hospitals, where soaring costs for oil and diesel are making electricity from neighbourhood generators increasingly unaffordable for families that depend on it.
Gaza has been without grid electricity since the start of Israel’s military offensive in the territory, launched in response to the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Israel halted electricity supply and restricted the import of fuel as well as engine oil, describing them as measures to punish Hamas.
Those restrictions have continued despite an October 2025 US-brokered ceasefire that brought an end to full-scale fighting but has failed to halt Israeli attacks, secure Hamas’ disarmament or relieve Gaza’s humanitarian and energy crises.
Ahmed Al-Nabris, an internal medicine specialist at Nasser Hospital, said shortages of fuel, engine oil and spare parts had forced the hospital into an austerity plan that includes rotating power cuts between buildings.
