Gaza hospitals to stop services in '48 hours' over fuel shortages: official

A health official in Gaza has warned all hospitals in the besieged enclave would have to stop or reduce services "within 48 hours" for lack of fuel, blaming Israel for blocking its entry.

"We raise an urgent warning as all hospitals in Gaza will stop working or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the occupation's (Israel's) obstruction of fuel entry," Marwan al-Hams, director of Gaza's field hospitals, said during a press conference on Friday.

"We call on international institutions to exploit the decision of the International Criminal Court to stop the genocidal war in Gaza," he added.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday "for crimes against humanity and war crimes" committed between October 8, 2023, and May 20 this year.

Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis since Israel started its brutal war on October 7, 2023.

'No medicine'

In late October, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported that all hospitals but one in northern Gaza were out of service.

The only medical facility still partly functioning in the area affected by the Israeli assault had "no medicine or medical supplies", Kamal Adwan hospital director Hossam Abu Safia said at the time.

The ministry's latest warning comes three days after the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed grave concern for hospitals still partly operating in northern Gaza.

WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said on Tuesday that the organisation was "particularly concerned about Kamal Adwan Hospital" in Beit Lahia amid Israeli attacks.