A spokesperson from the health ministry reports that a minimum of 24 individuals have lost their lives at Gaza's largest hospital as a result of electricity shortages.


More than 20 patients have lost their lives at Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital in the past 48 hours, according to a hospital official and the Palestinian health ministry.

The deaths are attributed to power cuts at the hospital, which has been non-operational since Saturday due to a fuel shortage. The health ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qudra, stated that the power outage led to the failure of vital medical equipment, resulting in the deaths of 24 patients in different departments.


Al-Shifa Hospital has been a focal point of Israel's ground offensive in northern Gaza, with Israeli forces conducting searches and alleging the use of a tunnel complex by Hamas beneath the hospital.

Despite denials from Hamas and hospital officials, Israel claims to have found weapons and an alleged Hamas tunnel shaft during the search, and two hostages were reported found near, though not inside, the hospital grounds.


The Palestinian health ministry reported that the incursion has devastated medical services at the hospital, where an estimated 2,300 patients, staff, and displaced Palestinians were taking refuge before the arrival of Israeli troops.

According to Al-Shifa staff, a premature baby passed away at the hospital on Friday, marking the first infant death in the two days since Israeli forces entered.
Three people had previously died while Israeli forces surrounded the hospital in the days preceding the current scenario.


Al-Shifa Hospital's director, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, told Al Jazeera that the hospital has become a "mass grave" and a "significant prison" for the people who are housed there.

We have nothing left: no food, no water, and no electricity. Every minute that goes by, lives are disappearing. We have lost twenty-two people in the previous night alone, and the hospital has been under constant siege for the last three days," Salmiya said.