News - Middle East: Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday the complete halt of dialysis services at Al-Shifa Medical Complex due to the depletion of fuel, forcing the hospital to limit intensive care services to only a few hours. This comes amid warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster threatening the lives of hundreds of patients and wounded individuals.

The ministry confirmed that the continued fuel shortage means potential death for dialysis patients and critical cases, stating that the suffocating crisis is a result of the Israeli enemy’s "drip-feed" policy in supplying fuel to hospitals, further deepening the suffering of the besieged healthcare sector.

The Ministry of Health renewed its appeals to all international institutions and relevant bodies to intervene immediately and urgently to protect what remains of the health system and ensure the regular flow of medical supplies and fuel. This comes as an unprecedented deterioration threatens the lives of thousands of patients in Gaza.

Since March 2, the enemy authorities have tightly closed Gaza’s crossings to aid trucks, leaving supplies piled up at the borders and allowing only a few dozen trucks to enter, while the sector needs a minimum of 500 trucks per day.

According to human rights reports, 472 kidney failure patients, representing 41% of the total patients (1,200), have died since October 7, 2023.

Chronic kidney failure patients require regular procedures totaling 12 hours per week (3 sessions, each lasting 4 hours).

Omar Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, confirmed that the complex was completely destroyed in early 2024 and is currently operating at no more than 25% of its previous capacity. The facility now has only 150 beds out of 800, 4 operating rooms out of 22, and 13 ICU beds out of 70.

Additionally, the number of dialysis beds has dropped from 60 to just 25, according to Abu Salmiya.

He noted that Al-Shifa currently serves around 1.5 million citizens in Gaza, warning of the imminent collapse of the healthcare system unless urgent intervention is taken to save the situation.

Israel launched the campaign of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. It has killed over 56,530 Palestinians there so far, according to the health ministry of Gaza.