United Nations warns aid to Gaza ‘could grind to a halt’ within hours if Israel does not lift its blockade on fuel supplies
- Aid work in Gaza may end in hours if Israel does not lift fuel supply block UN says
Aid work in Gaza will grind to a halt within hours if Israel does not lift its blockade on fuel supplies, the UN warned yesterday.
The UN relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said it would be forced to halt its operations in Gaza tonight if it could not get fuel.
Limited supplies of food, water and medicines have been allowed into the Palestinian state this week after Israel agreed it would not bomb humanitarian convoys. But it has refused to allow fuel to enter Gaza amid concerns it could be used by Hamas.
UNRWA spokesman Juliette Touma said: ‘If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip.’
She said the agency’s work would stop tonight if the fuel blockade remained in place, adding: ‘Time is running out.’
Rescued from the rubble: A child is passed down from a collapsed building in southern Gaza yesterday
Egyptian volunteers handle humanitarian aid bound for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt, yesterday
Some 600,000 people have sought refuge in the UN’s emergency shelters since Israel ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza.
Hospitals have also been hit by the fuel shortages and cannot run emergency generators to power life-support machines and incubators for premature babies.
Ambulances in some areas will run out of fuel within 24 hours, the World Health Organisation said.
Authorities in Gaza said hospital services had ‘completely collapsed’ because of the fuel shortage and Israeli airstrikes. The ministry of health said 12 hospitals and 32 health centres could no longer operate, adding: ‘We fear that more will be out of service in the coming hours due to targeting and running out of fuel.’
It issued a plea for the international community to supply its hospitals with fuel, and to send medics to help tend to the wounded.
Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila called for a humanitarian corridor to allow critically ill patients to be moved to hospitals in Egypt.
Doctors in Gaza have warned of the potential spread of diseases caused by overcrowding and poor sanitation after more than 1.4 million people fled their homes following Israeli airstrikes.
The health ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians had been killed in the bombardments since the latest crisis began including 35 UNRWA staff.
The humanitarian aid convoy bound for the Gaza Strip, is seen parked outside Rafah border gate
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