34 patients die due to oxygen machine shutdown at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital: Hamas-run ministry

GAZA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 34 patients died at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza as a result of the shutdown of oxygen machines caused by a fuel outage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said in a press statement that seven newborns were among the dead, adding it was difficult to evacuate patients and injured people from the medical complex, which is under siege and frequent attacks from the Israeli army.

The Al-Shifa Medical Complex currently has more than 60 patients in its intensive care units, more than 40 infants in its neonatal ward, and more than 500 patients in its kidney dialysis department, according to the ministry.

Earlier in the day, ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qedra said in a press statement that all hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, with the exception of Al-Ahly Hospital, went out of service because of the Israeli attacks and the exhaustion of fuel.

He warned that dialysis patients might die within hours because they could not be treated at the hospital.