Power Failure Pushes Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to the Brink

Dr. Raed Hussein, director of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, warned Sunday that the facility is on the verge of closure due to a severe electricity crisis. Four generators have failed in recent weeks, with the last functioning unit breaking down yesterday, forcing the suspension of vital services including operating rooms.

The hospital had relied on three backup generators after its main units failed during the first year of war. With one backup now out of service, only two remain, operated alternately by day and night. Hussein explained that the hospital has been running at half capacity for over a year, but the current breakdown threatens intensive care, dialysis, and neonatal units.

“We are sounding the alarm,” Hussein said, noting the hospital is the only government facility serving more than 500,000 residents and displaced people in central Gaza. He urged immediate intervention, including a direct power line from Deir al-Balah’s desalination plant and provision of new generators capable of handling loads exceeding one megawatt.

The crisis has already forced the cancellation or transfer of services to other hospitals. Medical teams remain in constant emergency mode despite severe shortages of equipment and supplies. Hussein warned that the countdown to full shutdown has begun, and patients may soon be forced to seek care elsewhere.

The Ministry of Health reported earlier this month that 47% of essential medicines and 59% of medical consumables are depleted. Gaza’s health sector has suffered widespread collapse under the ongoing war, with hospitals destroyed, infrastructure crippled, and fuel and medical supplies critically scarce.