UN agencies warn dwindling food, fuel stocks could force Gaza aid operations to grind to a halt in days

United Nations aid agencies warn that dwindling food and fuel stocks could force aid operations to grind to a halt within days in Gaza as vital crossings remain shut, forcing hospitals to close down and leading to more malnutrition.

Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing with Gaza was shuttered for a few days this week after it was shuttered days earlier following a deadly Hamas rocket attack, while the Rafah Border Crossing on the Egypt border has been closed since the IDF captured the Palestinian side of the terminal on Tuesday.

“For five days, no fuel and virtually no humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, and we are scraping the bottom of the barrel,” says the UNICEF Senior Emergency Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Hamish Young.

“This is already a huge issue for the population and for all humanitarian actors but in a matter of days, if not corrected, the lack of fuel could grind humanitarian operations to a halt,” he tells a virtual briefing.

More than 100,000 people have fled Rafah in the last five days, he adds.