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UN warns Gaza humanitarian situation worsening as fuel and access are blocked
Summary
UN humanitarian office says communications have briefly stabilized but fuel shortages and denials of humanitarian movements are leaving civilians at risk; OCHA warns of 'weaponized hunger' and forced displacement, and says hospital designations are hindering access.
At a United Nations press briefing, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that conditions in Gaza are deteriorating rapidly as fuel shortages and restrictions on movements hinder life-saving aid and basic services.
"We are seeing carnage, we're seeing weaponized hunger, and we're seeing forced displacement and a death sentence for people who are just trying to survive," Jonathan Whittall, head of OCHA in the occupied Palestinian territory, told journalists. He reiterated that OCHA and partners have a humanitarian plan to reach every family but have been ‘‘continuously prevented’’ from doing so.
Telecommunications were briefly restored after damaged fiber-optic cables were repaired, giving UN teams more than 24 hours of relatively stable communications, the spokesperson said. But OCHA warned that without urgent fuel deliveries for generators that power communications equipment, the gains could be lost.
Fuel is also needed to keep emergency rooms, ambulances and water desalination and pumping stations operating. UN teams are rationing remaining fuel and have been working to retrieve stocks stored in hard-to-reach locations inside Gaza; one UN team accessed fuel stored in Rafah and the spokesperson said a further update on that operation was expected the following day.
Coordination requirements with Israeli authorities mean many movements must be cleared in advance. On Saturday and Sunday, OCHA and partners attempted to coordinate 16 humanitarian movements; half were denied, the spokesperson said. Denials have impeded trucking of water and fuel, delivery of nutrition services and retrieval of bodies. Some movements that did not carry supplies, such as staff movements or waste removal, were facilitated.
OCHA also said most of Gaza remains under displacement orders. Israeli authorities issued a displacement directive affecting two neighborhoods in Khan Younis that include Al Amal and Nasr hospitals; while the authorities clarified the hospitals were not required to evacuate, OCHA said the designation nonetheless is hindering access for patients and medical staff.
The spokesperson said UN teams continue to press for facilitation of fuel movements in sufficient quantities into and throughout Gaza, including to the north, where requests have frequently been denied. The situation remains fluid and UN agencies said they will provide further operational updates as they become available.
