Yakoota Al Ahmad and Betul Yilmaz
16 February 2025•Update: 17 February 2025
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Gaza’s Health Ministry warned Sunday of a severe oxygen shortage in hospitals across the enclave after the destruction of 10 power plants by Israel’s genocidal war.
“Many hospitals are unable to meet their oxygen needs,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry warned that Israel’s refusal to allow access to oxygen generators in Gaza “will exacerbate the crisis to levels that threaten the lives of patients.”
The Israeli army has systematically targeted hospitals, schools, and shelters during its destructive offensive in Gaza.
According to figures released by Gaza’s government media office, 34 out of 38 hospitals in Gaza were destroyed by the Israeli army since Oct. 7, 2023. The other four hospitals are offering services at a limited capacity, amid a severe shortage of medicine and medical equipment.
Palestinian authorities also said that 80 healthcare centers stopped services while 162 others and 136 ambulances were destroyed in Israeli attacks.
A ceasefire agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
