Israeli fuel denials risk hospital and bakery closures in Gaza, UN warns; shelter aid also still restricted
NEW YORK CITY: Repeated rejections by Israeli authorities of requests to bring engine oil into Gaza threaten to shut down critical operations at hospitals, water-pumping stations and bakeries, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned.
Even though overall aid deliveries increased in July, oil remains in short supply and hundreds of thousands of people are still denied durable shelter equipment.
OCHA said its humanitarian partners are still not receiving enough of the approvals they need to deliver oil and spare parts for engines, which humanitarian operations depend on to keep vehicles and backup generators running.
The insufficient quantities of quality lubricant oil entering the territory through the private sector are not enough to fill the gap in supplies, the office said, leaving hospitals and other essential services at risk of having to reduce or even halt operations.
