Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read
09 July 2025 | 13:08 CAT

Kidney patients sit amid rubble outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, as they wait to leave after the facility suspended its dialysis unit services due to fuel shortages needed to power its generators. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hospitals in Gaza are running dark. Water systems have stopped functioning. Families are burning plastic to cook meals. Amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, a new energy assessment report by NORCAP and the Palestine Shelter Cluster, led by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has revealed an alarming collapse of infrastructure due to a total depletion of fuel, compounding what many are calling a silent emergency in a warzone already devastated by bombs and blockade.

“There has been no fuel delivery for more than four months. About 90% of households have no access to electricity or power,” explained Hajar Al-Kaddo of NORCAP. Speaking to Radio Islam, Al-Kaddo detailed how the crisis extends far beyond inconveniences. “We’re talking about hospitals that can’t run life-saving equipment, children in incubators, ventilators offline, and emergency surgeries cancelled.”

The report paints a grim picture. With desalination and sewage plants paralyzed, over 70% of households lack reliable access to clean water. The absence of cooking gas has pushed residents to burn debris and even plastics to meet basic cooking needs an unsustainable and dangerous makeshift solution.

The fuel scarcity has also spawned a black market where cooking gas has skyrocketed by over 2000%, diesel fuel by more than 1000%. “Lives are absolutely ground into a halt at the moment,” said Al-Kaddo, describing the catastrophic impact on Gaza’s more than two million residents.

Beyond infrastructure failure, the situation has deeply humanitarian implications. “Energy is not a luxury, it is a basic human right,” Al-Kaddo stressed, echoing the UN’s declaration. Yet, despite repeated warnings and calls for immediate fuel access, there remains a conspicuous lack of international enforcement.

Restrictions imposed by Israel, including those predating the October 7 conflict, are cited as a direct cause of the energy paralysis. Humanitarian agencies have identified fuel shortages as the top barrier to aid operations, with 86% reporting it as a major obstacle.

“We’re calling for a complete lifting of restrictions,” said Al-Kaddo. “Let us in. Let our fuel in. Let our equipment in.”

As international pressure mounts, NORCAP and NRC have joined global voices urging donors, political actors, and authorities to act swiftly. “Restoring energy access is not just about infrastructure, it’s about restoring dignity and the right to survive,” concluded Al-Kaddo.

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Hajar Al-Kaddo.