• Hospitals in Gaza face imminent closure due to critical fuel shortages.
• Over 100 premature babies' lives are at risk as care facilities cannot maintain essential functions.
• Doctors are forced to combine multiple babies in incubators to keep them alive.
• UN and health officials warn of a humanitarian catastrophe if fuel supplies are not restored.
• The ongoing conflict has severely crippled Gaza's healthcare system.

Medical facilities in Gaza are on the verge of collapse due to severe fuel shortages that threaten the lives of their most vulnerable patients, particularly the over 100 premature babies in their care. Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis have warned that continued fuel deprivation could turn these hospitals into "silent graveyards." Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiyah of Al-Shifa emphasized the dire situation, stating, "Oxygen stations will stop working. A hospital without oxygen is no longer a hospital," highlighting the impending failure of essential medical services, according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Channel News Asia.

As doctors adapt to dwindling resources, they are resorting to placing multiple premature infants in a single incubator, a stark indicator of the pressures faced due to the ongoing military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli military claims some fuel has been delivered but insists the distribution is overseen by UN bodies. However, local medical authorities refute this claim, citing the critical danger to patients whose lives depend on uninterrupted healthcare facilities, according to Reuters and Channel News Asia.

Reports indicate that hospitals like Nasser Medical Complex face immediate operational crises, needing at least 4,500 liters of fuel per day but currently possessing sufficient resources for only one day. With Israeli bombardment leading to over 600 attacks on healthcare facilities, the overall health service capabilities in Gaza have drastically declined. As hospitals battle to provide even basic care, health officials warn that failure to address the fuel shortages will lead to catastrophic outcomes for the patients they serve, including those needing urgent post-operative and intensive care, according to Al Jazeera and Channel News Asia.

The World Health Organization has described Gaza's health sector as being "on its knees," emphasizing that without urgent fuel provisions, they anticipate a sharp increase in preventable deaths among both patients in hospitals and affected communities. Dr. James Elder from UNICEF noted the insurmountable challenges faced by medical teams, who require both medicine and operational resources, underlining the necessity for immediate intervention to avert a humanitarian crisis, according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Channel News Asia.