Medical staff at al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza are being forced to place three to four premature babies in a single incubator due to acute fuel shortages, the Health Ministry in Gaza confirmed. The desperate measure comes as the enclave’s health system continues to collapse under the weight of the ongoing Israeli blockade.

Zahir al-Wahidi, spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, told RIA Novosti that hospitals are receiving minimal fuel allocations through coordination with international agencies, insufficient to sustain essential operations.

Premature births rise amid starvation and bombardment

Health officials say the alarming rise in premature births is a direct consequence of the war on Gaza. Many expecting mothers have been forced to live in overcrowded tent camps under constant bombardment, with no access to adequate food or clean water.

“In these conditions, we are seeing an unprecedented number of premature and underweight births,” said al-Wahidi. “We have no choice but to put three or four newborns in the same incubator just to keep them alive.”

According to local statistics, approximately 17,000 children were born in Gaza during the first half of 2025, with 1 in 10 being premature or underweight.

Collapse of the health sector in Gaza

The Gaza Health Ministry estimates that over 59,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 142,000 injured since the start of the war in October 2023. The World Health Organization reports that only 2,000 hospital beds remain functional in the enclave, which is home to around 2 million people. Fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals are still operating.

Severe shortages of infant formula, medicine, medical personnel, generator parts, and clean water are further compounding the crisis. Even basic items like baby incubators are in dangerously short supply.

The Israeli blockade has turned hospitals into zones of despair, where life-saving treatments and equipment are either unavailable or unusable due to the lack of electricity.

Despite diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire and alleviate the suffering, the humanitarian crisis continues to escalate, leaving Gaza’s most vulnerable, its newborns, at the mercy of a collapsing health system.

Read more: Gaza medical facilities risk shutdown as 'Israel' prevents fuel entry