Gaza officially out of laughing gas

You know when you can't find enough nitrous oxide to fill a party balloon? For you it may be a bummer, but for surgical patients in Gaza it's a life-threatening emergency.

Gaza's main hospital said Sunday it has run out of anesthetic for surgeries and canceled all but the most critical procedures, due to an Israeli blockade of its borders.

The Shifa hospital had been using emergency reserves of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, for the past two weeks, and placed an order for fresh supplies, but stocks ran out Sunday morning, hospital spokesman Walid Mahalawi said.

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Mahmoud Daher, of the World Health Organization in Gaza said the cause of the nitrous oxide shortage was that Israeli suppliers would not ship fresh gas cylinders without receiving the empties in exchange.

Because of repeated attacks by Palestinian militants on the crossings, the Israel Defense Forces [are] hesitant to allow the depleted canisters to approach for fear they might be rigged as bombs.

Dude, talk about a harsh catch-22. Perhaps a disinterested third party can make the nitrous swap for the nice people of Gaza, in exchange for an extra canister or two...