Israel said on Thursday there would be no humanitarian break to its siege of the Gaza Strip until all its hostages were freed, after the Red Cross pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from "turning into morgues".
The sole electric power station in Gaza has been switched off and hospitals are running out of fuel for emergency generators.
"The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians," Fabrizio Carboni, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement on Thursday.
"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."
Israel's Energy Minister Israel Katz said there would be no exception to the siege without freedom for Israeli hostages, Reuters reported.
"Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be lifted, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home. Humanitarian for humanitarian. And nobody should preach us morals," Katz posted on social media platform X.
