Kuwait Hospital in Gaza suspends operations as fuel runs out

• Only the emergency room remains open at the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital in southern Gaza, where more than 3,000 patients are treated daily.

The Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital in southern Gaza shut down most of its departments on Sunday after its fuel supplies ran out, leaving only the emergency room in operation. 

The closure removes a major source of care for the area's residents and highlights the strain a fuel shortage is placing on the territory's health system.

The hospital treats more than 3,000 patients a day, so the suspension affects a very large number of people who depend on it for routine and specialized treatment. 

Without fuel, the facility cannot run the generators that power its equipment or keep its ambulances on the road, and it has scaled back to emergency services alone.

Staff members gathered outside the hospital on Sunday to protest, holding signs that called for fuel to be delivered for the generators and ambulances. The demonstration reflected the frustration of medical workers who say they can no longer provide the level of care their patients need.

The NGO network in Gaza responded by calling for international pressure to lift the ‘Israeli’ restrictions on fuel entering the territory. The network described the shortage as part of a wider blockade on fuel, which is now straining more than 20 medical facilities across Gaza.

Hospitals rely on fuel-powered generators for essential services, including operating theaters, intensive care units, incubators, laboratory equipment, and refrigeration for medicines and blood supplies. Ambulances also depend on fuel to reach the injured and transport patients between facilities. When supplies run out, departments that require continuous power are typically the first to close, and patients who need ongoing treatment are left with few alternatives.

The Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital's decision to keep only its emergency room open reflects the limited options available to its administrators. Whether the other departments can reopen depends on whether fuel deliveries resume, which in turn depends on the restrictions that aid groups and medical staff are now urging the international community to challenge.

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