Hospitals have 24 hours left to treat children, the wounded and the dying

Hospitals have 24 hours left to treat children, the wounded and the dying – fuel must be delivered into Gaza’s hospitals within 12 hours, lives are at risk 

We issue this urgent plea to the international community, calling for immediate action to deliver essential fuel aid to Gaza. As hospitals teeter on the brink of running out of power, the lives of patients, including infants and the elderly, are at grave risk. 

The United Nations has said that the lives of at least 120 newborn babies in incubators, 70 of which are on mechanical ventilation, in Gaza’s hospitals are at risk as fuel runs out. Without this critical support, these babies will die. According to the Palestinian Information Centre, Gaza's hospitals usually serve 1,100 patients with kidney failure, including 38 children, with 13,000 dialysis sessions every month. The Shifa hospital, the largest in the Gaza strip, is treating over 5,000 patients, significantly over its capacity of 700 patients and is hosting over 45,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Without fuel aid, these hospitals will no longer be able to treat patients and many of them will die.  

This is entirely avoidable. 

We stand at a critical juncture, where immediate action can make the difference between life and death for thousands of civilians in Gaza. The situation is dire, and the time for action is now. We implore individuals, governments, and organisations worldwide to come together and act decisively to address the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza – this is about our collective humanity.  

We are asking all governments and the international community to do everything in their power to bring about an immediate ceasefire, reverse the evacuation order in Gaza, guarantee the full protection and safety of civilians and ensure lifesaving humanitarian assistance now. 

ENDS    

Contact the ActionAid press office at uk.media@actionaid.org or on 07753 973 486.    

Spokespeople available.   

• Wisam Shweiki - Head of Programmes at ActionAid Palestine  
• Riham Jafari, Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication for ActionAid Palestine  
• Soraida Hussein-Sabbah, Gender and Advocacy Specialist for ActionAid Spain, based in Ramallah, oPt.  

Please contact the press office to arrange.  

About ActionAid      

ActionAid is a global federation working with more than 41 million people living in more than 71 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.