GAZA CITY, Palestine

Health conditions are “extremely catastrophic” in the northern Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry in the enclave said Sunday.

“The health situation in northern Gaza is extremely catastrophic and indescribable,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said hospitals in Gaza’s north don’t have fuel.

“Dozens of ambulances, civil defense and medical services vehicles are out of service due to the lack of fuel,” it added.

The Health Ministry warned that kidney dialysis and intensive care patients “are at risk of death as a result of the lack of fuel for generators, ambulances, and medicines."

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing more than 29,690 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

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. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala