With the world’s attention elsewhere, a slow-burn collapse of basic logistics – from hospital generators to bakery ovens to donkey carts – is pushing survival to its limits.
The backup generator at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital failed mid-surgery last week. For nearly half an hour, surgeons worked by mobile phone light. It was not an accident, hospital staff now say. It was a warning.
That warning has gone unheeded.
A deepening shortage of engine oil, spare parts, and cooking gas is now grinding what remains of daily life in Gaza to a near-halt – affecting everything from emergency response and water desalination to bread production and the simple act of boiling water, according to reporting by Gaza correspondent Seham Tantesh.
“We issued a distress call after a small generator that we depended on to support the operation of the surgery operating rooms during the morning stopped working,” said Dr Raed Hussein, director of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, as documented by Tantesh.
“This generator used to support the 400 kVA generator that operates in the morning hours. When it broke down, we could no longer run the surgical operating rooms as usual, and unfortunately we had to close them … the available electrical capacity was no longer sufficient to handle the required load.”
What followed was not a repair, Dr Hussein explained. It was a deferral of disaster.
“What is happening now is ‘patchwork’ maintenance, not real maintenance, because Gaza lacks the necessary spare parts,” he told Tantesh. “Even previous repairs depended on dismantling old generators and using their parts to keep other generators running for a limited period.”
Some generators are now permanently out of service. With summer temperatures rising, Hussein fears those still running will soon buckle.
‘A patient kept alive on life support’
The crisis is not confined to hospitals. Gaza’s civil defence has warned that fire and rescue operations are at risk of a complete halt, Tantesh reports. Three firefighting vehicles and two ambulances have already broken down due to a lack of spare parts and engine oil – a lubricant that may seem minor but whose absence has proved devastating.
One litre of engine oil now costs approximately 2,200 shekels (about £570) , compared to roughly 25 shekels before the war. Much of the available oil is old stock and poor quality.
“The nature of our work has changed significantly in recent months because of the severe shortage of engine oil and spare parts,” said Rafiq Hamouda, 52, who repairs engines and vehicles in the Al-Mawasi area of Deir al-Balah. “Today we have seven cars that we have fully repaired, but they remain out of service simply because there is no engine oil available to run them.”
To cope, Hamouda has resorted to extreme measures.
“We have dismantled around six vehicles that were still relatively functional and used their engines, gearboxes and other components to save other vehicles,” he said. “It has become like trying to keep a patient alive on life support.”
A small sealing component that once cost between seven and 12 shekels is now sold for hundreds. A cylinder head gasket, if found at all, has jumped from 120 to roughly 2,000 shekels.
The wheelchair road
For ordinary Palestinians, the transport collapse has become a daily ordeal.
“The transportation crisis has had a major impact on our lives, especially because of my husband’s health condition,” said Heba Qahman, 36, a displaced mother of five living in Deir al-Balah. “About two months ago, he was injured in a traffic accident and suffered fractures in his leg. He underwent several surgeries and now needs regular medical follow up.
“The hospital is several kilometres away from where we live. I often have to push my husband in a wheelchair all the way there while carrying my baby. Sometimes, it takes me nearly an hour to reach the hospital, which is exhausting for both of us.”
Large numbers of cars have already stopped operating due to the engine oil scarcity, Tantesh notes. Many have been abandoned near homes or tents. Donkey carts – the traditional fallback – have also been depleted, with many animals killed by war or famine.
Water, bread, and burning plastic
The shortages are now reaching into Gaza’s water supply. A recent report from UNICEF, cited by Tantesh, found that seawater desalination plants are producing only about 16,000 cubic metres of water per day – down from 20,000 in March – due to restrictions on energy supplies, chemicals, and spare parts.
“The shortage of drinking water and the reduced water supply in camps and residential areas have forced us to cut water use for personal hygiene, washing clothes and cleaning household items,” said Walaa Sarsour, 46, from Beit Lahiya. “Water now reaches us only about once every two days and in limited quantities, whereas it was more available before.”
Bakeries are also being pushed to the brink.
“Some generators have stopped working, while other bakeries have reduced production because they no longer have enough oil to operate their generators,” said Abdel Nasser Al-Ajrami, head of Gaza’s Bakery Owners Association. “Some bakeries that used to produce pastries, fine bread and other products have stopped making them because they have run out of engine oil and cannot afford it at these prices.”
He warned of a cascading effect: “If bakeries stop operating, families will struggle to obtain bread and will have to bake on their own using firewood or gas. But gas itself is unavailable, and firewood has become scarce due to heavy consumption. This will only increase suffering of families.”
Firewood now costs nearly $3 per kilogram. Many families, Tantesh reports, have turned to burning plastic and nylon for cooking.
“The gas crisis is one of the hardest crises we have faced in these months,” said Qahman. “We now depend on open fires for cooking, which is extremely difficult, especially with the shortage of water and the harsh living conditions.
“Because we cannot afford to buy firewood regularly, we have had to look for alternatives, including collecting burnable waste from the streets.”
The invisible line
Israel currently controls 60% of Gaza, dividing the territory along what it calls the “yellow line”. Many residents can no longer access their own homes, belongings, or businesses. The war has killed an estimated 70,000 Palestinians, displaced more than 1.5 million, and destroyed over 80% of buildings.
But it is the smallest items that now tell the largest story. A simple gas lighter costs more than 30 shekels. A toilet seat can reach 2,000 shekels.
“We have tried to find alternatives for everything that has become unavailable or rare,” said Sarsour. “We have also been forced to give up some non-essential needs and focus only on the most necessary priorities.”
As summer heat intensifies, Dr Hussein’s warning from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital hangs over everything: the repairs are temporary, the generators are ageing, and the next failure is not a matter of if, but when.
“What is happening now,” he said, “is ‘patchwork’ maintenance, not real maintenance.”
And in Gaza, patches no longer hold.