Gaza health system 'just a few hours from collapse' as fuel supplies run out

Gaza’s authorities have warned heath system in the war torn enclave could collapse ‘in a few hours’.

The Health Ministry says without fuel for hospital generators it cannot cope as Israel continues operations in the Rafah area where it says the remaining Hamas battalions it is hunting are hiding out.

The ministry, which is run by Hamas, said in a social media post on Monday: “A few hours separate us from the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip as a result of the failure to bring in the fuel necessary to operate electricity generators in hospitals, ambulances, and transport employees.”

Israel has ordered tens of thousands more Palestinians to leave Rafah, as the IDF intensifies military operations in southern Gaza.

Parts of Rafah are now deserted amid bombing and fears of a full-scale Israeli ground assault.

Israel has said it will move ahead with its operation in Rafah despite the US and other countries warning the move could add to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and lead to more large scale civilian deaths.

US President Joe Biden said an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was possible if Hamas released its hostages. Israel has previously refused an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal that had Hamas support.

Israel says 128 people taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October are unaccounted for, 36 of whom are presumed dead.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on twitter that during the past day troops had been in "face-to-face battles" with Hamas fighters in Rafah.

The Israelis said they had found a number of tunnels used by Hamas for its military operations.