UNICEF: ‘Al-Aqsa Hospital oxygen generators will shut down risking more than 20 newborn lives’

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that oxygen generators at Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip would stop functioning due to a lack of fuel supplies.

UNICEF posted on X: “Fuel supply to #Gaza is still very low. With no consistent fuel delivery to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, oxygen generators will shut down, risking the lives of more than 20 newborns.”

“Gaza needs more fuel NOW & safe corridors for humanitarian workers to operate,” it added.

The Al-Aqsa Hospital administration announced on Friday that it restored electricity in the hospital after receiving a partial supply of fuel sufficient for only three days.

In a press statement, the hospital administration said: “15,000 litres of fuel were supplied on Friday morning, and the hospital returned to work. The hospital needs 4,000 to 5,000 litres of fuel per day to ensure continuity of its work.”

“The hospital experienced a real crisis in the past few hours, during which it almost lost many patients and wounded due to the power outage resulting from the failure to supply fuel to the hospital’s electric generator. We have constantly warned of this stifling health crisis.”

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