Youssef: We should work together to provide Gaza hospitals with vital fuel

Head of the Popular International Committee to Support Gaza Strip Dr Essam Youssef yesterday called for launching an international campaign to help afford fuel to generators that supply electricity to hospitals in Gaza, a press release said.

The appeal came in the wake of the announcement made by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza that fuel used to operator generators in the Strip’s hospitals is running low.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned yesterday that should the generators stop working, hundreds of patients’ lives would be at risk.

In the press release, Youssef said that there “must be an immediate international response to his appeal in order to stop a potential massacre of patients in Gaza hospitals.”

READ: Basic services on verge of collapse in Gaza hospitals due to lack of fuel

Youssef named the campaign “$1,000 for 150 litres of fuel”, calling for wide participation and support for the campaign, which aims to help the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza keep its hospitals running, noting that the crisis is a result of the strict Israeli siege imposed on Gaza.

“Human conscience and the civilised world do not allow hundreds of patients to die anywhere in the world, not only in Gaza, due to a lack of fuel and inability to operate the electricity generators,” he said.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that its generators need 450,000 litres of fuel every month if electricity is switched on between for between eight to 12 hours a day, but they need 950,000 litres if the electricity remains on for 20 hours a day.

Gaza hospital suspends services due to fuel shortages – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]