The United Nations has warned that it could be forced to stop working across the Gaza Strip by Wednesday unless there were urgent fuel deliveries to the war-torn territory. The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said that fuel has become the “most vital commodity” in Gaza, as it is needed to power generators for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants.
According to a UNRWA spokesperson only 54 trucks have entered Gaza from Egypt over the past three days carrying food, water and medicine. This is a far cry from the roughly 500 aid and commercial trucks that used to enter Gaza daily before the war. UNRWA has a “very sturdy diligence system” to ensure that any fuel it receives is only used for humanitarian purposes.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) also appealed for a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war to allow safe deliveries of aid to civilians short of food, water, medicine, and electricity in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip.
Several hospitals in Gaza have already suffered a “total collapse” due to the acute fuel shortage, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. It called for the “immediate flow” of much-needed medical supplies and fuel into the Gaza Strip. The Palestine Red Crescent said it has delivered more than 16,300 food parcels in the last 24 hours in central Gaza, as well as Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
