Fuel in Gaza hospitals sufficient for only 3 days: Health ministry

Gaza's Health Ministry warned on Sunday that fuel reserves in the enclave's hospitals will only last for three more days.

"The Israeli occupation is preventing international and UN organizations from accessing fuel storage areas designated for hospitals under the pretext that these areas are located in 'red zones'," said the ministry in a statement.

It added that the limited fuel currently available "is only sufficient to sustain hospital operations for three days."

Hospitals across the war-torn territory rely heavily on generators to power intensive care units, operating rooms, and other critical departments, due to the collapse of the local power grid under months of Israeli bombardment.

"The obstruction of fuel supplies poses a direct threat to the functioning of hospitals," the ministry emphasized, warning of the risk of a total shutdown of vital medical services.

Nearly 52,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.