Half a million people in central Gaza are at risk of losing access to medical care in the coming hours.

This is after the main power generator at the Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah failed, the Palestinian authorities said on Tuesday.

The hospital’s main power generator has been disabled, and there are no spare parts available for repair.

“In the coming hours, fuel supplies will run out, putting the lives of hundreds of hospital patients at risk.

“The closure of the hospital will result in half a million people losing access to medical care,” the Gaza government said on social media.

In late May, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that only 17 of the 38 hospitals in Gaza remained operational in spite of having to cope with shortages of medicine, equipment, personnel and fuel for their generators.

Medical facilities are routinely targeted by the Israeli military, which claims that hospitals harbour Hamas militants.

The Palestinian health authority estimates that more than 6,900 people have been killed and more than 24,500 others have been injured since Israel resumed its attacks on the enclave on March 18.

(RIA/NAN)