Gaza: UN urges Israel to allow fuel into Strip

“Amid ongoing Israeli military operations, scores of people have reportedly been killed and injured, including while waiting for food,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

“Over the weekend, there were numerous reports of attacks hitting homes, as well as schools hosting displaced people,” it added.

Catastrophic hunger

OCHA noted that amid the “heavy constraints” on bringing in supplies and carrying out humanitarian operations across Gaza, people are going hungry.

“The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that one in five people faces catastrophic hunger, and more than 90,000 women and children urgently require treatment for malnutrition,” it said.

WFP has about 130,000 metric tons of food positioned in the region, ready to serve people in Gaza if improved access is granted.

Call for access

OCHA reiterated calls on Israel to facilitate the access and entry of essential supplies into Gaza, through the available crossing points and corridors, to address people’s desperate needs. Fuel, in particular, is urgently needed.

“The UN and its partners call on the Israeli authorities, with utmost urgency, to allow the entry of fuel into Gaza. This is critically needed for life-saving operations – including hospitals, water and sanitation equipment, telecommunications, moving cargo from crossings, and operating community kitchens,” it said.

Displacement continues

Mass displacement continues in the war-torn enclave.

On Sunday, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for parts of Jabalya and Gaza City, impacting around 150,000 people. Those forced to flee join thousands already crowded into shelters lacking water, sanitation, and medical care. Shelter materials such as tents and timber have not entered Gaza in 17 weeks.

Most of the territory remains under displacement orders, OCHA said, and Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal obligation to protect civilians.

Search for the missing

Meanwhile, in war-torn Gaza, thousands of families remain trapped in a spiral of anxiety and despair as they search for their missing loved ones.

Among them is Anwar Hawas, a young woman in her twenties, searching desperately for Hadi, her 17-year-old autistic brother who has been missing for weeks.

“Every day I go out in the morning and return in the evening, hoping to find him,” she told UN News.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reports that more than 11,000 individuals are missing in Gaza since the war started on 7 October 2023, the majority among them women and children.