Hospitals risk turning into morgues without electricity
Five days after Hamas breached Israel's border in a devastating attack, the ancient calculus of war and reprisal is playing out once more in one of the world's most densely inhabited places. Israel stands poised at the edge of a ground offensive, its reservists massed and its warplanes already reshaping Gaza's skyline, while inside the territory 2.3 million people face a darkness that is both literal and existential — their power gone, their hospitals counting down, their borders sealed. What unfolds in the coming days will test not only military strategy but the limits of what the international community is willing to witness.
- Israel has mobilized 360,000 reservists and positioned forces along Gaza's border, with military commanders openly preparing for a ground invasion that political leaders have not yet formally authorized.
- Gaza's only power station has gone dark, and hospitals warn they are days away from losing the electricity that keeps newborns, dialysis patients, and surgical wards alive.
- A blockade on food, fuel, water, and medicine is accelerating a humanitarian collapse, with 339,000 Palestinians displaced in a single day and aid convoys stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
- Hezbollah's cross-border fire from Lebanon and Hamas's threat to execute an estimated 150 Israeli hostages are widening the conflict's perimeter and raising the stakes of every decision made in Tel Aviv.
- The death toll has already surpassed 2,400 across both sides — Israel's worst loss of life since the 1973 war — and military planners warn that house-to-house combat in Gaza's dense urban terrain would drive that number far higher.
On Thursday morning, Gazans woke to a territory without power. The strip's only generating station had exhausted its fuel, and the private generators that briefly filled the gap were themselves running out. People queued outside bakeries during the narrow windows shops dared to open, aware that those windows were closing. Overhead, Israeli warplanes continued their campaign. A military spokesman confirmed that ground forces were being readied for a potential invasion, though the political order had not yet come.
The war had erupted five days earlier when Hamas fighters breached Israel's border fence, killing hundreds of Israelis in homes, on streets, and at an outdoor music festival. The response was swift and overwhelming. By Thursday, more than 2,400 people were dead across both sides — Israel's bloodiest toll since the 1973 war. Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had formed an emergency war cabinet that included longtime rival Benny Gantz, vowed to crush Hamas entirely.
Inside Gaza, the humanitarian situation was deteriorating at speed. Israel had sealed the territory's borders, cutting off food, water, fuel, and medicine. The displaced population swelled 30 percent in a single day to 339,000, most of them crowded into UN-run schools. The medical system was near collapse: Al-Shifa hospital had fuel for perhaps three days, and the Red Cross warned that without electricity, hospitals would become morgues — newborns in incubators, dialysis patients, and those on oxygen all at immediate risk.
Israel's 360,000 mobilized reservists and the forces massed along the border signaled that a ground offensive — the first since 2014 — was a matter of when, not whether. Gaza's 2.3 million residents are packed into a strip just 25 miles long, and urban combat there would be devastating. Hamas held an estimated 150 Israeli hostages and had threatened to kill them if strikes on civilians continued without warning.
Diplomatically, the United States sent Secretary of State Blinken to Tel Aviv to affirm its support for Israel, while Egypt rejected a proposal to absorb Palestinian refugees, fearing it would undermine the Palestinian cause. Aid convoys sat idle at the Rafah crossing. To the north, Hezbollah fired on Israeli military positions from Lebanon and Israel shelled back — a reminder that the conflict's borders were already beginning to blur.
On Thursday morning, Palestinians in Gaza emerged into darkness. The city's only power station had run out of fuel the day before, leaving the territory lit only by scattered private generators that would soon die too. Outside bakeries, people lined up during the few hours shops dared to open, knowing that without electricity or fuel deliveries, those doors would close for good. Above them, Israeli warplanes continued their assault. The military spokesman, Lt Col Richard Hecht, told reporters that forces were "preparing for a ground manoeuvre if decided," though he emphasized that the political leadership had not yet issued the order.
The war had begun five days earlier with a Hamas attack that breached Israel's border fence on Saturday, killing hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on streets, and at an outdoor music festival. The response had been swift and overwhelming. By Thursday, at least 2,400 people were dead across both sides. In Gaza, the death toll stood at 1,200 according to the Palestinian health ministry. In Israel, more than 1,200 had been killed—including 189 soldiers—a toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in a televised address, vowed to "crush and destroy" Hamas and declared that "every Hamas member is a dead man." He had formed a new war cabinet that included Benny Gantz, a longtime political opponent and former defence minister, signaling the gravity of what lay ahead.
The humanitarian toll was accelerating. Israel had sealed its borders with Gaza, blocking the entry of food, water, fuel, and medicine. Within 24 hours, the number of displaced Palestinians had surged 30 percent to 339,000—two-thirds of them crowded into UN-run schools, others sheltering with relatives or strangers. Hundreds of thousands more remained in their neighbourhoods, now reduced to rubble by intensive airstrikes that had flattened entire city blocks. The few who ventured outside ran through streets carrying whatever belongings they could, searching for any place that might be safe.
The medical system was collapsing. Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, had fuel reserves for only three days. Doctors Without Borders, which operated two hospitals in the territory, reported running critically low on surgical equipment, antibiotics, and other supplies. Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross's regional director, painted a stark picture of what was coming: "As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can't be taken. Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues." International aid groups warned that deaths could accelerate as the blockade tightened.
Israel had mobilized 360,000 reservists and massed additional forces along the Gaza border, evacuating tens of thousands of residents from nearby Israeli communities. A ground offensive—the first since 2014—would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides. Gaza's 2.3 million residents are densely packed into a strip of land only 25 miles long. House-to-house fighting in such terrain would be brutal and devastating. Hamas was holding an estimated 150 Israeli hostages—soldiers, men, women, children, and older adults—and had threatened to kill them if Israel struck Palestinian civilians without warning. The group had also fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the preceding five days.
The United States had pledged unwavering support for Israel's response. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday to meet with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. Egypt, meanwhile, had rejected an American proposal to allow Palestinians to flee Gaza, fearing it would harm the Palestinian cause. Convoys loaded with fuel and food sat on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, unable to enter. Egypt was attempting to negotiate safe corridors for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of foreigners, but progress was uncertain.
The risk of wider regional conflict was also becoming apparent. On Wednesday, Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, had fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military position and claimed to have killed and wounded troops. The Israeli military confirmed the attack and shelled the area in southern Lebanon in response. The war that had begun with Hamas's attack on Saturday was showing signs of spreading beyond Gaza's borders.
The Israeli military said its overnight strikes had targeted Hamas's elite Nukhba forces and command centres used by the fighters who had attacked Israel. Lt Col Hecht stated that the focus was on eliminating senior leadership—"not only the military leadership, but also the governmental leadership, all the way up to Yehiyeh Sinwar." But the Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported that Israeli strikes had demolished multi-storey houses without warning, killing and wounding large numbers of civilians. The distinction between military and civilian targets, always blurred in Gaza's densely packed neighbourhoods, was becoming impossible to maintain.
Notable Quotes
As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues.— Fabrizio Carboni, International Committee of the Red Cross regional director
Every Hamas member is a dead man.— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why hasn't Israel ordered the ground offensive yet if they've mobilized 360,000 reservists and positioned forces at the border?
The military can prepare without the political order. Netanyahu's war cabinet was only formed on Wednesday. There's a difference between readiness and commitment—they're signalling capability while the government decides whether the cost is worth it.
What happens to the 150 hostages if a ground invasion begins?
That's the tension no one can resolve. Hamas has said they'll kill hostages if Israel strikes civilians without warning. A ground offensive in dense urban terrain means civilian casualties are nearly inevitable. It's a hostage crisis and a military operation happening simultaneously.
The hospitals losing power—is that a slow-motion catastrophe or an immediate one?
Both. Al-Shifa has three days of fuel. After that, newborns in incubators, dialysis patients, anyone on life support—they're at risk. But the real collapse happens when fuel runs out across the territory. Private generators will die. Then it's not just hospitals; it's water pumps, refrigeration, everything.
Why did Egypt reject the American proposal to let Palestinians leave?
Egypt sees it as a permanent displacement. If Palestinians leave Gaza, they argue, Israel wins—the territory empties, the cause is lost. It's a political calculation that traps people inside.
Is Hezbollah's attack a sign the war is spreading?
It's a signal. Hezbollah fired missiles and claimed kills, but the Israeli military didn't confirm casualties. It's a test—seeing how far they can push without triggering a larger response. If Israel escalates in Lebanon, this becomes a regional war.