UPDATE 2 - 5 patients die due to power outage after Israeli army raided Nasser Hospital

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEADLINE

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least five patients died at the Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip due to a power outage after the Israeli army raided the facility, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Friday.

“A fifth patient at Nasser Medical Complex was killed as a result of the cessation of electrical generators and the cessation of oxygen machines at dawn Friday,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said earlier that four patients died in intensive care as a result of “the power outage and the cessation of oxygen machines in the Nasser Medical Complex.”

It added that “two women gave birth in abhorrent and inhumane conditions, without electricity, water, food, or heating" in the hospital.

The ministry had warned earlier that “electrical generators stopped and the power was completely cut off" from the medical center, adding that it “fears the death of six patients in intensive care and three in the children’s nursery.”

The ministry held “the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of patients and staff, considering that the complex is now under its full control.”

It also appealed to “all international institutions to intervene to save patients and staff before it is too late.”

Since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, the Israeli offensive into Gaza has killed more than 28,600 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling this January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Despite international outcry, Israel plans a ground invasion of Rafah, which holds about 1.4 million refugees. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, "We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action in Rafah."

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi