KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip. Hospitals in Gaza are sounding a dire warning as they struggle to cope with a growing influx of wounded patients amid dwindling supplies and fuel shortages. This situation has the potential to lead to the loss of thousands of lives in the besieged coastal enclave as the threat of an imminent Israeli ground offensive looms in the wake of a deadly attack by Hamas.
Israeli forces, with support from an increasing deployment of U.S. warships in the region, have positioned themselves along the border of Gaza and conducted drills in preparation for what Israel describes as a wide-ranging campaign to dismantle the militant group. Despite a week of intense airstrikes that have caused widespread destruction, rocket attacks by militants into Israel continue.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, since the start of the conflict, a staggering 2,329 Palestinians have lost their lives, surpassing the casualties of the 2014 Gaza war. This makes it the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides. On the Israeli side, more than 1,300 have been killed, with the vast majority being civilians who fell victim to a Hamas assault on October 7th. This marks the deadliest conflict for Israel since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.
Hospitals in Gaza are on the brink of running out of generator fuel within just two days, raising grave concerns for the thousands of patients who rely on life-saving equipment. The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant has ceased operation due to a lack of fuel, following Israel’s complete closure of the 40-kilometer-long (25-mile-long) territory after the Hamas attack.
In Nasser Hospital in the southern town of Khan Younis, intensive care units are overcrowded with wounded patients, including a significant number of children under the age of 3. Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, a consultant at the critical care complex, has warned that the hospital’s fuel supply is expected to run out by Monday, putting all these patients at risk of death if electricity is cut off.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the head of pediatrics at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has refused evacuation orders, as there are seven newborns in the ICU relying on ventilators. “We cannot evacuate; that would mean death for them and other patients under our care,” he stressed.
The situation remains grim, with patients continuously arriving with severe injuries, including severed limbs and severe burns. Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, is now being forced to bury 100 bodies in a mass grave due to morgue overcrowding, as relatives are unable to give their loved ones a proper burial. Tens of thousands of people seeking safety have gathered in the hospital compound.
Even before the current conflict, Gaza was already grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis, marked by a critical shortage of water and medical supplies due to the Israeli siege. With some bakeries closing, residents are struggling to find basic necessities such as bread, and the Israeli decision to cut off water has led to many relying on brackish wells.
Israel has ordered nearly half of Gaza’s population, more than 1 million Palestinians, to move south. The military claims this is to clear away civilians ahead of a major campaign against Hamas in the north, where the militant group is believed to have extensive tunnel networks, bunkers, and rocket launchers. In response, Hamas has urged people to stay in their homes.
The United Nations and aid organizations have expressed deep concern about the mass exodus within Gaza, coupled with Israel’s complete siege, as it is expected to cause immense human suffering. The World Health Organization has noted that the evacuation “could be tantamount to a death sentence” for over 2,000 patients in northern hospitals.
The Israeli military has announced that it will not target a single route south between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with the goal of encouraging Palestinians to leave the north en masse. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that approximately 1 million people have been displaced in Gaza in just one week.
Efforts are being made to reopen Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza to allow foreigners to leave and humanitarian aid to be brought in, but the crossing remains closed due to early airstrikes in the conflict. Israel insists that the siege will only be lifted when captives are returned.
Hundreds of relatives of the estimated 150 people captured by Hamas in Israel and taken to Gaza have gathered outside the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, demanding their release. They are desperately seeking information about their loved ones.
In southern Israel, residents of Sderot, a town heavily targeted by Hamas, are boarding buses to escape ongoing rocket fire. Thousands have already left under a state-sponsored program that places them in hotels elsewhere in the country, as the safety of children has become a major concern.
The Israeli military reported that an airstrike in southern Gaza killed a Hamas commander accused of involvement in attacks on communities in southern Israel. Israel said it struck over 100 military targets overnight, including command centers and rocket launchers.
In the north, tensions are escalating as Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli army post, prompting an artillery response from Israel. One casualty was reported. Israel later closed off areas within 2.5 miles from the border and ordered civilians within 1.25 miles to seek shelter in safe rooms.
Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war in 2006, have exchanged fire along the border several times since the start of the latest Gaza conflict.
Israel has called up approximately 360,000 military reserves and amassed troops and tanks along the Gaza border. Residents living near the Gaza border, including those in Sderot, continue to be evacuated. To date, militants in Gaza have fired over 5,500 rockets, reaching deep into Israel, while Israeli warplanes continue to bombard Gaza.
In a televised address on Saturday night, Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, declared that “we are going to attack Gaza City very broadly soon,” without specifying a timeline for the operation. When asked about how civilians staying in the north would be treated, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, another army spokesman, reiterated the encouragement for those not involved with Hamas to move south.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced late Saturday that a second carrier strike group, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, is being moved to the eastern Mediterranean as a show of force meant to deter Hamas allies such as Iran and Hezbollah from escalating the conflict.
Hamas remains resolute in the face of mounting challenges. In a televised speech, Ismail Haniyeh, a top official based abroad, asserted that “all the massacres” would not break the Palestinian people.
Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha, in Beirut, stated that Israel “does not dare to fight a ground battle” due to the captives. He alluded to the possibility of Hezbollah and other regional players joining the battle if Israel launches a ground invasion, although he did not confirm any concrete commitments.
