UNRWA says Gaza fuel depot empty, fears more shutdowns

UNRWA’s chief announced on Monday that the organisation will not be able to replenish hospitals, remove sewage, or provide drinking water in the coming days due to the depletion of its fuel depot in Gaza. About half of all Gazans who have fled their homes since an Israeli military campaign started more than a month ago in response to deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 are being housed by UNRWA. Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, informed donors on Monday that it has been gradually emptying a strategic reserves-containing fuel depot near the Israeli border. He said there had been no response to a request for replenishment from the Israeli military. Al-Quds, one of the main hospitals in the northern part of Gaza that has been the target of Israel’s ground invasion, is among the many hospitals in Gaza that have already had to close as a result of war damage or a shortage of fuel. Because they might be transferred to Hamas for military use, the Israeli military has thus far refused to allow fuel imports into Gaza. Moreover, hundreds of tonnes of solid waste are extracted using UNRWA fuel from the progressively congested camps in southern Gaza; however, Lazzarini announced that these services would soon come to an end. The desalination plants in the narrow, heavily populated coastal strip, which supply drinking water to at least 290,000 people, will also shut down on November 15th due to a lack of fuel, he continued. (With agency inputs)