Gaza faces medical supply shortages as Israeli bombardment continues for third day

Gaza Strip (QNN)- Gaza Strip is facing acute shortages of medical supplies, Mohammed Abu Salameh, the director of Shifa, Gaza City’s main hospital, said, after hundreds of Palestinians wounded as Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue for a third day.

On Saturday, Gaza’s sole power plant said it will cease operations at 12 noon due to lack of fuel sources, adding the shutdown will affect all vital facilities and households in the strip, exacerbating the humanitarian situation and drawing warnings from health officials that hospitals would be severely impacted within days.

In a statement, Gaza’s electricity distribution company said, “The power plant in Gaza has stopped (working) due to the fuel shortage,” leaving residents with only 4 hours of electricity a day in a sweltering summer. According to the statement, 500 megawatts are needed to fulfil Gaza’s electricity needs.

“Only 120 megawatts are currently available in Gaza imported directly from ‘Israel’,” it said.

On August 2, days before the current Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Israeli occupation unexpectedly closed both Erez and Karem Abu Salem crossings. The closure of Karem Abu Salem—the only commercial crossing in Gaza that itself hardly meets the needs of more than two million people living in the Strip—would further affect Gaza residents.

The closure of the crossing has already affected fuel supplies, particularly that intended for the operation of Gaza’s only power plant.

It should be noted that recently the electricity supply has not exceeded eight hours, followed by eight hours of interruption. An even more severe fuel crisis would negatively impact people’s lives, the work of hospitals and municipalities, access to drinking water, and the operation of sewage treatment plants.

Since Friday afternoon, Israeli occupation has been launching a series of air strikes and artillery fire in Gaza in an aggression that left, so far, at least 32 Palestinians dead, including six children and two Islamic Jihad commanders. At least 253 civilians have been injured as well, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The UN humanitarian chief for the occupied Palestinian territories, Lynn Hastings, said on Saturday in a statement regarding the situation and Israeli aggression, “Fuel for the Gaza Power Plant is due to run out today; electricity has already been cut.”

“The continued operation of basic service facilities such as hospitals, schools, warehouses, and designated shelters for internally displaced persons is essential and now at risk.”

“Movement and access of humanitarian personnel, for critical medical cases, and for essential goods, including food and fuel into Gaza, must not be impeded so that humanitarian needs can be met.”

Hastings urged all parties to “immediately allow the United Nations and our humanitarian partners to bring in fuel, food, and medical supplies and to deploy humanitarian personnel in accordance with international principles; this includes specifically ensuring access and safety through key border crossings.”