The spokesperson of Gaza’s health ministry said in a statement on Friday that the health ministry would face a difficult situation if fuel is not provided to hospitals in the few upcoming hours. Ashraf al-Qadra called upon all competent authorities to quickly intervene and provide fuel for Gaza’s hospitals, noting that the fuel crisis in Gaza is expected to have severe effects on the besieged enclave’s hospitals. The plead came two days after health services in a children’s hospital were suspended due to a lack of fuel to its generators. The ministry of health said at the time that the al-Durrah children’s hospital would be out of commission for 27 hours due to the power shortage, adding that other hospitals across Gaza faced similar risks. more

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israel shelled the Beit Hanoun hospital in northern Gaza on Friday, damaging the top floors and causing panic among patients and staff, employees said. A nurse in the hospital told Ma'an that Israel fired a drone missile at the roof and third floor, damaging water supplies. The area of the hospital targeted contained a ward for children, a reception area, and the offices of several doctors. The building was evacuated immediately following the attack, with no injuries reported. The attack comes as Israeli tanks fired shells at the al-Wafa hospital in Gaza City late Thursday, the facility's director said. "Israeli tanks are shelling the hospital, they have hit several of the floors, and several nurses have been injured," director Basman Alashi told AFP. "There is no place safe in Gaza! If a hospital is not safe, where is?" he said. more

Gaza, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -An increase in birth defects among newborns in the Gaza Strip - first documented in the Palestine Telegraph - has become apparent, despite claims to the contrary by some doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital. Pregnant women say they are living in constant fear. Noha Abu Laban, 37, a resident of Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, is in her final month of pregnancy and says: "In the war, I inhaled the smoke of white phosphorus, which was fired on the roof of our house. I have been feeling sick since my pregnancy, and have had heavy bleeding." Noha is currently being treated in the High-Risk Pregnancy Care Unit at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. more

Gaza is littered with the depleted uranium Israel uses to strengthen its warheads. Now there will be many children born with deformities and even more precious land beyond human habitation or farming. Gaza / PNN - 'Citizens Action to Dismantle Nuclear Weapons Completely' has prepared a 33 page report showing the presence of tens of tons of depleted uranium in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli attacks of late December and January are the culprit, report the international organization. “The quantity of depleted uranium may amount to no less than 75 tons found in the soil and subsoil in the Gaza Strip,” is the study’s quote. As many have suggested, the Israeli military used or may have used depleted uranium in the ground and air assaults on the Strip during the operation in the period between 27 December 2008 and January 18, 2009. The report indicated that Norwegian Dr. Mads Gilbert, during the first few days of participation in voluntary humanitarian work at Gaza City’s Al Shifa Hosp...