Gaza Herald — The Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced on Tuesday evening that the oxygen station at Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza has gone out of service after being struck by Israeli gunfire.
In a statement, the society said the hospital is now relying on pre-filled oxygen cylinders that will last only three days. It added that Israeli military vehicles are currently stationed at the hospital’s southern gate in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
The Red Crescent warned of the extreme danger surrounding the hospital, which threatens the lives of patients and medical staff. It stressed that hospitals must remain safe havens for the sick and are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law. The organization called on the international community to act immediately to protect both patients and medical teams inside the hospital.
The crisis comes as Gaza’s healthcare system faces unprecedented collapse. On Monday, the Ministry of Health announced that Rantisi Children’s Hospital and the Eye Hospital had both gone out of service after Israeli attacks, while a medical relief center in Gaza City was destroyed.
Severe fuel shortage
Earlier Tuesday, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, warned that hospitals across the Strip risk shutting down entirely within 48 hours due to a severe fuel shortage. He cautioned that this would trigger an unparalleled humanitarian disaster. Al-Bursh explained that Israel continues to deliberately target medical facilities, pointing to the bombing of Hamad Rehabilitation Hospital, which was rendered completely out of service, in addition to the destruction of Rantisi Children’s Hospital, the Eye Hospital, and a medical relief center in central Gaza City.
According to Al-Bursh, Israel’s repeated strikes have forced the closure of the majority of Gaza’s hospitals. Since the beginning of the war, 38 hospitals have been destroyed or disabled, leaving only 13 partially functioning and unable to meet the needs of thousands of patients and the wounded.
He stressed that the fuel crisis poses the greatest threat, with only enough reserves left to sustain critical departments for 48 hours. The shutdown of power for incubators, ventilators, and intensive care units would mean mass death for patients and premature infants.
