Gaza [Palestine], January 10: Three more hospitals in Gaza could be shut down due to lack of fuel, the UN has warned even as relentless Israeli strikes killed more than 50 more Palestinians in the last 24 hours.
The UN has condemned what it called a "deliberate and systematic" attacks on Gaza hospitals and warned that a lack of fuel threatens to shut down more medical facilities as Pope Francis has described Israel's military campaign as 'very serious and shameful'.
Gaza health officials on Thursday said Al-Aqsa, Nasser and the European hospitals are at risk of imminent closure, after repeated Israeli bombardment and blockade of supplies, as they face the same fate as Kamal Adwan, Indonesian and Al-Awda hospitals.
Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, was "overstretched" given an influx of more injured civilians, many of them women and children, who had now faced a genocide for 15 months, according to an Al Jazeera reporter. "Doctors are reporting about the acute shortage of basic supplies, including surgical tools, antibiotics and painkillers," he said.
At Nasser Hospital, Doctors Without Borders warned that the lives of 15 newborns in incubators were at risk due to a shortage of fuel for generators that provide electricity to the facility.
"Without fuel, these newborns are at risk of losing their lives," said Pascale Coissard, MSF's emergency coordinator.
Atmosphere in the Palestinian territory "is quite charged with tension and fear". "What we have seen over the past 24 hours has been very bloody. The death toll from the past day has really been staggering," another journalist reported.
On Thursday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) renewed its call for a ceasefire. "More humanitarian aid must come into Gaza and a ceasefire is more critical than ever," the group wrote on X.
Despite the UN's appeal, Israel continued its bombardment across the Gaza Strip.
At least six Palestinians were reported killed in attacks at dawn 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 at Nuseirat refugee camp while several others remained missing under the rubble. Wafa said Israeli strikes killed at least 51 civilians and injured 78 others in the past 24 hours.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed 46,006 Palestinians and wounded at least 109,378 others, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his criticisms of Israel's military campaign as "very serious and shameful".
In his yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide on Thursday, the pope appeared to reference deaths caused by the cold weather in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit," the text of his address said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
