The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has announced that many hospitals and health institutions in the Gaza Strip have shut down as a result of lack of fuel, and that the Ministry holds the national unity government accountable for any harm that may befall their patients due to “the government’s lack of responsibility.”
In a statement issued on 24 August, the ministry also revealed that it has halted heart surgery services in Gaza’s European Hospital and has limited its services in Al-Shefaa Hospital to emergency cases only; noting that each of the hospitals of Kamal Adwan, Gaza European, Al-Shefaa and Al-Rantisi are all threatened to stop offering services as a result of current fuel shortages meaning they are unable to continue their operations.
The Ministry explained that such actions are a result of the worsening Gaza crisis and the government’s “lack of responsibility” towards the situation despite repeated appeals. The Ministry has asserted that the action taken is “an attempt to contain the crisis so as to ensure that the basic services could be offered for as long as possible.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry also stressed that it is exerting doubled efforts to contain the crisis, warning, at the same time, that it will be obliged to take further steps “unless there is an urgent remedy to provide working requirements.”
“We are holding the government fully responsible for any harm that could happen to the patients and increase their suffering,” said the statement, which also issued an appeal to stakeholders to put pressure on the government to meet its duties.
Since it took office at the beginning of June 2014, the national unity government has rejected the possibility of working with Gaza ministries, including the Ministry of Health, or paying any operational expenses for health institutions and hospitals in Gaza. In addition, the government has also refused to pay salaries to former government employees, while simultaneously paying salaries to Ramallah government employees who have not been doing their job for eight years.
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