More patients are dying because of a lack of power at Gaza’s main hospital, medical staff said on Sunday amid conflicting accounts from Israel and health authorities in Gaza over why a badly needed fuel delivery for the besieged and crumbling facility had been held up. …

Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for Gaza’s health ministry, disputed those assertions. In an interview, he said that an offer had been made over the phone for 200 liters — not 300 — and that the head of Al-Shifa Hospital rejected the offer because it was not sufficient. No fuel was delivered, he said.

“Taking this fuel would give Israel credit for allowing fuel into Gaza,” even though Israel has otherwise barred fuel from entering the enclave since Oct. 7, Dr. al-Qudra said in an interview.

[Well, then, what are the Hamas commanders running al-Shifa complaining about — and the WHO, the UN, and other world leaders too, for that matter? We’ve heard nothing but dire consequences for the patients of al-Shifa if Israel didn’t supply them with fuel. Now that they offered, suddenly it’s insufficient and would paint them too sympathetically. It’s clear where Hamas’ priorities are, and it’s not with civilian patients. They just want to stop the IDF from rooting them out of their HQ. Clever of Israel to call their bluff. — Ed]