Israel-Palestine War: Gaza hospitals 'risk turning into morgues,' warns Red Cross

Hospitals in Gaza are at risk of turning into morgues as continue to remain stripped of resources like electricity, water and food, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Thursday.

“As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk,” ICRC regional director for the Near and Middle East, Fabrizio Carboni, said in a statement.

Gaza is reeling under a humanitarian crisis, with over 38,934 Palestinians being displaced in the region according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, the head of the Gaza power authority told CNN that its main power station has stopped operating after running out of fuel. Locals in the region are scrambling through little electricity and using power generators to fulfill their needs.

The Palestinian health ministry has warned of healthcare disruption across the Gaza Strip as hospitals do not have enough beds to accommodate wounded people.

“Hospitals have run out of bed capacity. The injured and ill people are on the floor as the Israeli aggression intensifies,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz, on the other hand, has announced that Gaza will not get any basic resources until Hamas releases all captives.

“Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electric switch will be turned on, no water tap will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home,” he said.

The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday (October 7, 2023) and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left over 2,300 people dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hours after forming an emergency government and wartime Cabinet, also vowed to keep fighting Hamas, and for the first time, on Wednesday, clearly expressed his country’s intention to “destroy” the Palestinian terrorist group.