Gaza: Patients including newborns “hanging by a thread” as Nasser Hospital is running out of fuel
Three key hospitals in Gaza - Nasser, Al Aqsa and European Gaza - are on the verge of closure due to a lack of fuel.
This situation is threatening the lives of hundreds of patients, including newborns, who depend on electricity to stay alive, warns Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Staff at the MSF-supported Nasser Hospital raised the alarm on 8 January that the electricity might be cut off in some departments, leaving people without life-saving care.
In the neonatal intensive care unit at Nasser, MSF is currently treating three children and four newborns with mechanical ventilation, as well as 15 newborns in incubators, all dependent on electricity provided by fuel generators.
MSF teams are transferring fuel to Nasser and Al Aqsa hospitals, but this is only a temporary solution to cover the next 36-48 hours.
“Without fuel, these newborns are at risk of losing their lives. The babies in incubators rely on constant electricity for the ventilators that are keeping them alive”
Newborns at risk
MSF is alarmed by this catastrophic situation, which could have tragic consequences as the situation is unlikely to improve unless steps are taken.
We call on all parties to facilitate the entry of fuel into Gaza and to ensure its safe delivery to medical facilities. The dismantling of the health system by the Israeli blockade, which is endangering people's lives, must stop immediately.
“Without fuel, these newborns are at risk of losing their lives. The babies in incubators rely on constant electricity for the ventilators that are keeping them alive,” says Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator.
“They are already in an extremely vulnerable state, and any transfer to other hospitals would directly endanger their lives.”
“Putting the lives of children at risk like this is unacceptable and is a consequence of Israel’s ongoing blockade and continuous criminal looting of life-saving supplies.”
Our work saves lives
Hanging by a thread
MSF teams provide emergency, maternity, paediatric, burn and trauma care at Nasser Hospital, which has a capacity of 500 beds.
The provision of medical oxygen is one of the hospital’s main fuel requirements. On average MSF teams are treating over 100 cases of pneumonia each month, some of whom need oxygen support.
At the same time, our teams are performing more than 100 caesarean sections each month, all of which require a constant supply of electricity.
“It’s an impossible situation because even if we prioritise the little fuel that is left to the most urgent departments, we know that it won’t last more than 36 to 48 hours,” says Julie Faucon, MSF medical team leader in Gaza.
“The lack of sustained electricity is impacting the level of care we can provide to those with burns and trauma, and some patients are hanging by a thread.”
In December 2024, an average of 92 trucks per day carrying vital supplies were able to enter Gaza, compared to 500 trucks entering per day prior to 7 October 2023, according to the United Nations.
MSF and other organisations have been warning for over a year that the woefully inadequate supply of aid is threatening the lives of people in Gaza. We have now reached a tipping point where one of the last specialised hospitals in the South risks being unable to function because of lack of fuel.
MSF and the Israel – Gaza war
An unprecedented humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza. MSF teams have worked to treat the wounded and supply overwhelmed hospitals as indiscriminate airstrikes and a state of siege threaten millions of men, women and children.