OCHA is deeply concerned that the decline in fuel supplies is seriously affecting essential services in Gaza. Gaza faces critical shortages of fuel and medicine Humanitarian Aid
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that Israeli authorities were continuing to hamper UN efforts to deliver life-saving aid to the northern Gaza province.
On Thursday, of the 21 humanitarian missions planned by the UN across the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities had facilitated only 10. Seven requests were rejected, three missions were hampered, and one was cancelled due to security and logistical problems.
Severe Fuel Shortages
OCHA is deeply concerned that the dwindling fuel supplies are severely affecting essential services in Gaza. Palestinian telecommunications providers have warned that services could be disrupted as early as Saturday due to a shortage of fuel needed to power generators.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that Al-Awda Hospital, the last partially functioning clinic in the northern Gaza Strip, is critically short of fuel and essential medical supplies. WHO is trying to replenish Al-Awda’s supplies and assess the situation at Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has completely ceased functioning, but damaged roads and insufficient cooperation from the Israeli authorities make it difficult to reach these facilities safely.
Situation in the West Bank
According to OCHA, in the first week of this year, Israeli troops killed three Palestinians, including a child, and wounded 38 others in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. At the same time, Palestinian gunmen shot dead three Israeli settlers and wounded eight others in the Qalqilya area.
OCHA also reports that in the first week of the year, Israeli settlers wounded 18 Palestinians in the West Bank, including nine in the village of Silwad. More than 50 Palestinians in the West Bank have been displaced by the demolitions, most in East Jerusalem.