The first truck delivering fuel to the Gaza Strip since the start of the war has arrived in the besieged enclave.
The diesel fuel truck arrived in Gaza on Wednesday via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. However, this is “not at all sufficient”, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said, adding that the use of this fuel has been “restricted” by Israel .
“I have just received 23,027 LT (6,083 gallons) of fuel from Egypt (half a tank) – but its use has been restricted by the Israeli authorities – only to transport aid from Rafah,” said Tom White , director of UNRWA affairs in the Gaza Strip. said in a post on X.
“No fuel for water or hospitals. This represents only 9% of what we need daily to continue our vital activities,” he continued.
“That’s the equivalent of half a truck!” Not enough at all. Much more is needed. Fuel is being used as a weapon of war, this must stop,” UNRWA said on X.
#Gaza 👇fuel. That’s the equivalent of half a truck! not enough at all! Much more is needed. Fuel is used as a weapon of war, it stops 👇 🛑⛽️
– UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 15, 2023
Israel has imposed a total siege on Gaza since Hamas attacks in southern Israel last month. Limited deliveries of humanitarian aid have been transiting from Egypt to Gaza since October 21, but Israel has refused to let in fuel.
On Tuesday, he agreed to allow 24,000 liters (6,340 gallons) of diesel to enter Gaza, but this only concerns UN trucks and not Gaza’s hospitals, which are closing because ‘They don’t have fuel to power their generators.
The fuel was delivered to the UN “to facilitate the delivery of aid after trucks on the Palestinian side stopped working due to lack of fuel”, an Egyptian source told Agence France-Presse.
The Israeli Defense Ministry unit that deals with Palestinian civil affairs said earlier: “UN trucks transporting humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing will be refueled at the Rafah crossing, at the request of the UNITED STATES. »
Fuel shortages have already caused or contributed to the closure of hospitals, bakeries, sewage pumping stations, water desalination plants and water wells and threaten to close data centers telecommunications and connection points within 48 hours, the UN said on Tuesday.
Gaza’s two main telecommunications companies, Paltel and Jawwal, warned on Wednesday of a “total telecommunications blackout in the coming hours” in the Gaza Strip due to a lack of fuel.
Our entire business is now on the verge of collapse.
At the end of today, approximately 70% of the population #Gaza will not have access to drinking water.
Having fuel only for trucks will no longer save lives. Waiting any longer will cost lives.
– Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) November 15, 2023
After the first tanker entered, witnesses told media that two more were waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, but it was unclear when they would be able to enter.
“Having fuel only for trucks will not save lives,” Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner general, said in a message on X. “Our entire operations are now on the verge of collapse. By the end of the day, approximately 70% of Gaza’s population will not have access to clean drinking water.”
Humanitarian agencies in Gaza say a chronic lack of fuel has hampered efforts to provide food, water and medicine to Palestinians in Gaza, which is under siege as Israel wages a war that has killed at least least 11,200 people.
Israel’s bombings and ground offensive followed the Hamas attacks on October 7, which killed 1,200 Israelis.
On Tuesday, 91 trucks carrying food, medicine, bottled water, blankets and tents entered Gaza from Egypt, but the UN says deliveries since October 21 – 1,187 trucks as of total – can only meet a fraction of Gaza’s needs.
Aid distribution was largely halted due to lack of fuel, he added.