By Jerald Jimenez
25 Oct 2023, 3:30 PM EDT
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Wednesday that it urgently needs fuel to continue providing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade and an intense air offensive for more than two weeks.
The situation has worsened after the launch of rockets by Hamas militants against Israel, which has responded with attacks that have killed more than 750 people in Gaza.
The UN agency, which is the largest provider of humanitarian services in Gaza, said it had to ration what little fuel it had left and may have to drastically reduce its operations.
The fuel is needed to power the generators in the hospitals, which are overwhelmed by the large number of injured and lack basic resources such as food, water and medicine.
Israel has allowed some trucks with aid to pass across the border with Egypt, but banned fuel deliveries to prevent it from reaching the hands of Hamas, which controls the Gaza government and has vowed to destroy Israel.
Given this, the UN clarified that it had managed to deliver part of the aid to hospitals, but that it was insufficient.
It is expected to rise further if Israel launches a long-awaited ground offensive to root out Hamas militants.
The Israeli military, for its part, said its attacks had targeted the militants and their infrastructure, such as tunnels, command centers and weapons warehouses, which it accused Hamas of hiding among civilians.
The UN said that about 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were internally displaced, and that almost 600,000 had taken refuge in UN facilities.
Residents of Gaza are currently facing a serious humanitarian crisis since Israel closed the territory following the Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Health centers have stopped operating due to lack of fuel and personnel. Many injured people are lying on the ground without medical attention or waiting days to be operated on due to the saturation of critical cases.
With information from the Associated Press
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