Gaza Doctor: Power Shortages Putting Child Patients at Risk

A doctor at one of Gaza’s main hospitals warned that electrical shortages were putting children in danger as Israel continued its siege of the enclave in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack.

In footage posted by Gaza’s health ministry on Tuesday, October 17, Dr Nasser Bulbul, head of the Special Care Baby Unit at the Dar al-Shifa Hospital, describes how all departments were filled with people in critical condition and if the hospital lost power, staff would lose control over the situation.

“We can’t even work without the electrical supply,” said Bulbul. “We appeal to everyone to stand by these children and to extend a helping hand so we can continue giving the appropriate treatment to the patients,” he said.

The video was posted after the health ministry said Gaza’s hospitals had “entered a stage of virtual collapse due to power outages and fuel scarcity.” Services were cut at two hospitals, the al-Karama Hospital and the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, due to airstrikes targeting nearby buildings and fuel shortages, the ministry added. Credit: Gaza Ministry of Health via Storyful