Gaza needs fuel “as urgently as water and food”, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) told CNN this Monday (23), “as the two aid convoys that entered Gaza this weekend barely alleviate the terrible conditions in the territory”.
“Without fuel it will not be possible to bypass Gaza or power the water desalination plant to obtain drinking water, or to supply hospitals and life-saving machines,” said Communications Director Tamara Alrifai.
Alrifai said the humanitarian aid that entered Gaza was “a fraction” of what is needed for more than 400,000 displaced people currently sheltering in schools run by UNRWA, adding that the situation is “very, very dire”.
See also: UN calls for ceasefire and humanitarian aid in Gaza
She said people in Gaza are forced to ration food, “even counting the minimum calories needed per person, per day, for survival,” adding: “We are really counting on continued, unimpeded access for trucks from Rafah to Gaza.”
Israel has previously said that fuel will not be allowed in Gaza.
On October 14, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN that when aid enters Gaza, “the water pipes are turned into rockets. Cement destined for buildings is transformed into tunnels. Food for orphans and people in need is delivered to Hamas operators. And the fuel for the hospital is taken to Hamas bunkers.”
Crisis in Gaza
In the midst of a weekend of intensified strikes, doctors described “catastrophic” conditions at a central Gaza hospital, as electricity and fuel supplies run out and paralyzed medical facilities are quickly overwhelmed with casualties.
Iyad Issa Abu Zaher, general director of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital, described a “bloody day” for his team at CNN on Sunday (22), saying that the hospital received up to 166 bodies and more than 300 injured people.
“It is impossible for any hospital in the world to admit this number of injured people,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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