More Gaza hospitals shut over power shortage

Three hospitals and ten medical centers have suspended services over an acute fuel shortage in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a statement, Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said emergency generators had stopped at three medical centers on Sunday, taking the total number of medical centers suspending services to ten.

The spokesman warned of grave health consequences of the fuel crisis on the lives of patients in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

Home to nearly two million people, the Gaza Strip boasts a total of 13 Ministry-run hospitals and 54 primary health care centers that account for roughly 95 percent of all health services in the coastal enclave.

Gaza, which continues to groan under a decade-long Israeli siege, has struggled with severe electricity shortages since 2006.

Although the territory requires an estimated 600 megawatts of electricity, it currently receives only 120 megawatts from Israel and another 32 megawatts from Egypt.

Gaza's sole functioning power plant, meanwhile, is only able to generate 60 megawatts of electricity, according to the Palestinian Energy Authority.