UNITED NATIONS, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The shortage of fuel is so critical in Gaza that hospitals are rationing it, water systems are faltering and ambulances are stalling, UN humanitarians said Tuesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the shortage is part of the overall catastrophic conditions in Gaza, as they deteriorate even further. Humanitarian teams continue to receive reports of tents, schools, homes and medical facilities coming under attack, with scores of people killed or injured every day.
OCHA said the fuel crisis in Gaza has reached a critical point. What little fuel remains is already being used to power the most essential, such as intensive care units and water desalination. But those supplies are running out fast, and there are virtually no additional accessible stocks left.
"The deaths this is likely causing could soon increase sharply unless the Israeli authorities allow new fuel in, urgently, regularly and in sufficient quantities," said the humanitarians.
OCHA said the Israeli authorities issued yet another displacement order for parts of Khan Younis, for those staying in tents. An initial review of a map published with the order suggests it also includes areas that have not been subject to displacement orders since before the last ceasefire, which ended in March.
The office said that even the smaller areas where people are being forced to concentrate are fragmented and lack the most basic infrastructure and services. Like the rest of Gaza, they remain extremely unsafe. The area allowed amounts to only about 15 percent of the Gaza Strip, and it is shrinking.
"Across the strip, families are trying to survive this nightmare, protect their children to the extent possible and search for whatever minimal food exists," said OCHA, adding that "a displacement order does not relieve any party from the imperative to spare civilians, including those who are unwilling or unable to leave."
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday called for the protection of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, warning that the hospital is overwhelmed with trauma injuries, taking up double its capacity, effectively turning it into one large trauma ward. Many of the patients are coming from areas where people are being shot at while trying to access food.
Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Nasser Medical Complex is running critically low on trauma supplies, essential medicines, equipment and fuel. He said the staff is exhausted.
OCHA said that humanitarian movements inside Gaza remain heavily restricted.
Of 12 attempts to coordinate such movements with the Israeli authorities, only four were fully facilitated on Monday and just one of those involved the delivery of supplies. Another four attempts were denied outright, blocking efforts to evacuate patients, recover broken trucks or remove debris. The remaining four were initially approved but then faced impediments on the ground, ultimately undermining humanitarian teams' ability to carry out their missions as planned, said the office. ■