Babies who receive critical care in Gaza run the risk of becoming much more sick or even dying in the next few days, since the enclave runs out of fuel and hospitals are forced to turn off the incubators, doctors warn.
Walking through a row of incubators in the neonatal unit of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Dr. Ahmad al-Farra, head of the pediatric unit of the installation, shared the story of each baby one by one.
“This baby is a term baby,” he told the NBC News crew on the ground on Thursday, gesturing a small figure in an incubator, wrapped only in his diaper and with an oxygen tube fixed on the nose with surgical tape.
“As you can see, it depends on mechanical ventilation,” Al-Farra said. “If electricity was cut … this baby will not survive.”
His warning evokes memories of at the beginning of the war, when several babies died in hospitals in northern Gaza after repeated warnings that a military assault in the area would end up being fatal for babies.
Nasser Hospital is just one of Several facilities in Gaza face an “imminent closure” as fuel stocks are exhausted in the enclave, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned Wednesday. The closure of vital units would probably result in the death of patients, even in intensive and neonatal care units, he said.
Ocha added that the “total prohibition of fuel entry” imposed by Israel for about 130 days was the fault of scarcity, which, according to him, has also severely affected water, sanitation and hygiene services.
While Israel in May lifted a block that prevented food entry, medical supplies and other vital items, has only allowed a limited amount of help, including “basic” food supplies.
“The true threat to babies in Gaza is not a lack of fuel, it is Hamas,” said David Mencer, spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to a NBC News request to comment on the warnings of a fuel crisis in hospitals in the enclave.
“They press fuel for terror, not hospitals,” he said.
Mence did not answer the question of whether more fuel would be allowed to reach hospitals in Gaza in the near future.
Cogat, the Israeli army link with the Palestinians, did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Dr. Mohammad Saqer, director of Nursing at Nasser Hospital, told NBC News that the installation had only about 3,000 liters (790 gallons) of diesel. He said he needed 4,500 liters (1,190 gallons) daily to operate all departments effectively. Already, he said, the hospital had deactivated electricity for some departments, channeling energy to the most vital units.
“The situation is very catastrophic because electricity will be activated abruptly in 24 hours,” said Saqer. “This means that many patients, especially in the ICU in addition to other departments, are subject to inevitable death.”
The hospitals of the entire enclave have fought to operate throughout the war, after being beaten strongly in Israel’s offensive. Of the 36 hospitals of the territory, none works completely; 18 are providing partial services and 18 do not work at all, according to data from the World Health Organization, the last update on Monday.
Meanwhile, Saqer asked the international community to intervene and help to obtain fuel to Gaza’s hospitals to “save children’s lives.”
His call occurred when the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, said in an X publication on Thursday that EU officials had reached a new agreement with Israel to allow the very necessary food and fuel in the enclave.
Kallas said the agreement could result in “more open crosses, assistants and food trucks entering Gaza, vital infrastructure repair and protection of humanitarian workers.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar recognized the agreement at a conference in Vienna, according to Associated Press.
Aurora Almendral and Caroline Radnofsky contributed.
