Three Gaza hospitals to be closed as latest Israeli attack kills 50 | Israel-Palestine Conflicts News

The United Nations is warning that fuel shortages in Gaza are threatening to close many medical facilities in the besieged area, putting the lives of patients and babies at “great risk”.

The UN's condemnation of “deliberate and systematic attacks” on Gaza hospitals came as Israeli strikes killed more than 50 Palestinians in the past 24 hours.

Health officials in Gaza said on Thursday that Al-Aqsa, Nasser and European hospitals are at risk of imminent closure, after Israeli bombardment and blockades, as they face the same fate as Kamal Adwan, Indonesia and Al-Awda hospitals.

Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, said the facility is now “expanded” as injured civilians, most of them women and children, have been facing genocide for the past 15 months.

“Doctors report a severe shortage of basic items, including surgical instruments, antibiotics and painkillers,” he said.

Dr. Bushra Othman, a surgeon and volunteer at the hospital, said the situation is being assessed every 24 hours, as officials try to replenish resources.

“At any time during the day, there will be power and electricity cuts, and certain areas have to be protected such as theaters, the intensive care unit, including the neonatal unit,” he told Al Jazeera.

At Nasser Hospital, Doctors Without Borders warned that the lives of 15 newborns placed in incubators are at risk due to the lack of fuel for the generators that provide electricity at the facility.

“Without fuel, these newborns are at risk of losing their lives,” said Pascale Coissard, MSF's emergency coordinator.

Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, who also reported from Deir el-Balah, said the atmosphere in the Palestinian territories was “full of tension and fear”.

“What we have seen in the last 24 hours is bloodshed. The number of dead since the previous day is really surprising,” he said.

On Thursday, the UN refugee agency for Palestine (UNRWA) renewed its call for a ceasefire. “More humanitarian aid must reach Gaza and a ceasefire is more important than ever,” the group wrote on X.

Despite the UN complaint, Israel continued to bombard the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that at least six Palestinians were killed in the early hours in central and southern Gaza, while at least eight others were killed in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Wafa news agency reported that four Palestinians, including three children, were killed in Nuseirat refugee camp and many others are still missing under the rubble.

Wafa said Israeli strikes killed at least 51 civilians and wounded 78 in the past 24 hours.

As of October 7, 2023, Israel has killed 46,006 Palestinians and injured at least 109,378 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis on Thursday added to his criticism of Israel's military campaign, calling it “very serious and shameful”.

In his annual address to ambassadors who presented aid on his behalf on Thursday, the pope appeared to address the deaths caused by the cold in Gaza, where there is no electricity.

“We will not accept that children freeze to death because hospitals have been destroyed or state funding has been cut,” said the text of his address.