Gaza hospitals suffering due to border closure with Egypt

Baher al-Turk, a patient at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, has begun to suffer severe anxiety over his health. He fears the consequences of an ongoing shortage of the fuel necessary to run the power generators in the Shifa Medical Complex (the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip), and whose power supply is suffering an acute crisis.

The fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip began after Egyptian security forces in the city of Rafah conducted a large-scale campaign against the tunnels used for smuggling gas into the Strip, destroying most of the pumps that bring fuel into the Strip.

In addition to fuel imported from Egypt, there is another source of fuel imports into Gaza, namely, Israeli fuel that enters the strip in small, unstable quantities. But these imports are few in quantity and high in price, rendering their use infrequent and highly limited. Turk, 64, told Al-Monitor that he needs kidney dialysis three times a week at the Shifa Medical Complex, saying, "If the power is cut off, it will mean my life's end."

Turk spends four hours in every dialysis session, focusing his gaze on the device which drains his blood and returns it, while sneaking quick glances at his watch, hoping that it will perhaps move more quickly and his time in that place will come to an end. more

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