‘Permanently unusable’: Gaza’s last hospital generators face irreversible failure
The Palestine Chronicle reports on 22 October 2026:
Key Developments
- Gaza’s Health Ministry warned that generator engines could burn out permanently, leaving them unusable even if oil supplies eventually arrive.
- Hospitals urgently need more than 2,500 liters of operating oil monthly; 70 percent of generators were already out of service in September.
- The remaining generators power operating rooms, intensive care units, neonatal incubators, ventilators and dialysis machines amid the continuing electricity blackout.
Gaza’s Health Ministry warned Thursday that the remaining generators powering hospitals could become permanently unusable after operating oil stocks were completely exhausted amid Israel’s continued blockade.
The warning threatens electricity supplies to life-saving departments already dependent on equipment running for prolonged periods without adequate maintenance. “Generators have been running for thousands of continuous hours without sufficient oil or maintenance, bringing them to the final point of mechanical danger,” the ministry said in a statement reported by Anadolu.
The ministry cautioned that allowing the engines to fail could leave lasting damage that subsequent deliveries would not resolve.
“If generator engines burn out because of the lack of oil, they could become permanently unusable even if supplies become available later,” it warned.
Engineering teams are working under difficult conditions to monitor the equipment and maintain electricity supplies to critical hospital departments.