A hospital in Gaza stopped services Monday after it ran out of fuel, the health ministry said, in a further example of a severe electricity shortage facing the blockaded Palestinian enclave. Beit Hanoun hospital in northern Gaza had "suspended medical services because of the lack of fuel", with patients to be transferred to other hospitals, said Gazan health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.

He said some 60,000 people are usually served by the hospital, which had been treating dozens of patients in serious condition. Other hospitals, including the Shifa Hospital which is Gaza's largest, remain open. Gaza is suffering from crippling energy shortages, with residents receiving only a few hours of power per day.

At current electricity rates, the hospital needs 500 litres of fuel a day to operate a generator and keep services open, Qudra added. The cold weather in Gaza has led to a spike in demand for electricity and ffuel used to power generators The enclave needs 500 megawatts of electricity a day but receives less than half that.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018