Gaza Hospitals Face Fuel and Spare Parts Shortages as Power Cuts Threaten Patients
Gaza's hospitals are facing critical shortages of fuel, engine oil, and spare parts, leading to rotating power outages among facilities and endangering patients, as described by medical professionals. At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, internal medicine expert Ahmed Al-Nabris reported that these shortages have necessitated a power rationing strategy. Generators are malfunctioning due to the lack of engine oil and spare components, leaving patients in overheated wards awaiting care. The situation is dire beyond healthcare, with skyrocketing oil and diesel prices making neighborhood generator electricity increasingly unaffordable for families. Since Israel's military operations began in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Gaza has been without grid power. Israel's electricity cuts and restrictions on fuel imports are viewed as punitive measures against Hamas, persisting despite a US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025 that failed to resolve ongoing violence or humanitarian issues.
Key facts
- Doctors say hospitals have resorted to rotating power cuts between buildings, putting patients in severe danger.
- Shortages of engine oil and spare parts are causing generators to seize up at one of Gaza's largest functioning hospitals.
- Ahmed Al-Nabris, an internal medicine specialist at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said the shortages forced an austerity plan with rotating power cuts.
- The crisis is spreading beyond hospitals as soaring costs for oil and diesel make neighbourhood generator electricity unaffordable for families.
- Gaza has been without grid electricity since the start of Israel's military offensive, launched in response to the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.
- Israel halted electricity supply and restricted the import of fuel and engine oil, describing them as measures to punish Hamas.
- An October 2025 US-brokered ceasefire ended full-scale fighting but has failed to halt Israeli attacks, secure Hamas' disarmament or relieve Gaza's humanitarian and energy crises.
- Patients are waiting for treatment in sweltering wards as power cuts cascade through the hospital.
Entities
Artists
- Ahmed Al-Nabris
Institutions
- Nasser Hospital
- Hamas
- Reuters
Locations
- Gaza
- Khan Younis
- Israel
- United States