UNRWA: Fuel crisis in Gaza threatens lifesaving services
The health sector in the Gaza Strip remains under intense strain, with widespread damage to medical facilities, the UN agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has said.
The health crisis in the Gaza Strip was further compounded by ongoing restrictions on the entry of essential medical supplies and fuel, UNRWA said in its latest situation report.
'The fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached deeply worrisome levels. Humanitarian organisations warn that without the immediate entry of fuel, lifesaving and life-sustaining services are at risk of shutting down imminently,' the UN agency said.
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MTV Lebanon
14 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
UNRWA: Fuel crisis in Gaza threatens lifesaving services
The health sector in the Gaza Strip remains under intense strain, with widespread damage to medical facilities, the UN agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has said. The health crisis in the Gaza Strip was further compounded by ongoing restrictions on the entry of essential medical supplies and fuel, UNRWA said in its latest situation report. 'The fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached deeply worrisome levels. Humanitarian organisations warn that without the immediate entry of fuel, lifesaving and life-sustaining services are at risk of shutting down imminently,' the UN agency said.
MTV Lebanon
16-06-2025
- MTV Lebanon
16 Jun 2025 15:10 PM 40 Killed in Gaza Amid UN Criticism of Israeli-Backed Aid
Israeli fire killed at least 40 people, half of them near an aid distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday, the territory's health ministry said, as U.N. officials denounced Israeli-backed aid delivery methods. Medics said at least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded near an aid distribution site in Rafah, the latest in daily mass shootings that have killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food since Israel imposed a new distribution system after partly lifting a near three-month total blockade. Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of a new U.S.-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates three sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. The United Nations has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about Monday's reports of shootings. In previous incidents it has occasionally acknowledged troops opening fire near aid sites, while blaming militants for provoking the violence. Relatives arrived at Nasser Hospital to mourn the dead. Women and children wept beside bodies wrapped in white shrouds. 'We went there thinking we would get aid to feed our children, but it turned out to be a trap, a killing. I advise everyone: don't go there," said Ahmed Fayad, one of those who tried to reach aid on Monday. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA, said in a post on X: "Scores of people have been killed & injured in the past days, including of starving people trying to get some food from a lethal distribution system." Before the new system was set up, aid had been distributed to Gaza's 2.3 million residents mainly by U.N. agencies such as UNRWA, which employ thousands of staff inside Gaza and operate hundreds of sites across the breadth of the enclave. Israel says it has had to crack down on distribution because Hamas fighters were diverting food aid. The militants deny this and say Israel is using hunger as a weapon. Lazzarini said Israel had not lifted restrictions on U.N. agencies including UNRWA bringing in aid, despite an abundance of assistance ready to be moved into the enclave. On Sunday, COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that this week it had facilitated the entry of 292 trucks with humanitarian aid from the United Nations and the international community, including food and flour, into Gaza. It said the Israeli military would continue to permit the entry of humanitarian aid while ensuring it did not reach Hamas. Before Monday's incident, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 300 people had so far been killed, and more than 2,600 wounded, near aid distribution sites since the GHF began operations. In Geneva, Volker Turk, U.N. rights chief, told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday that Israel had "weaponised" food in Gaza. He repeated a call for investigations into deadly attacks near the GHF distribution sites. "Israel's means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza," said Turk. "Disturbing, dehumanizing rhetoric from senior Israeli government officials is reminiscent of the gravest of crimes," he added. On Sunday, at least five people were killed as thousands of Palestinians approached two GHF distribution sites in the central and southern the enclave. The GHF said in a statement that it resumed food deliveries on Sunday, distributing more than two million meals from its three distribution sites without incident. The war in Gaza erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants raided Israel and took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on October 7, 2023, Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's military campaign since has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip. Most of the population is displaced, and widespread malnutrition is a significant concern.
MTV Lebanon
10-06-2025
- MTV Lebanon
Israeli gunfire kills 17 people near Gaza aid site
Israeli gunfire killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others as thousands of displaced people approached an aid distribution site of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in central Gaza on Tuesday, local health authorities said. Medics said the casualties were rushed at two hospitals, the Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, and the Al-Quds in Gaza City, in the north. The Israeli military said they are looking into the incident. Last week it warned Palestinians not to approach routes leading to GHF sites between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time, describing these roads as closed military zones. There was no immediate GHF comment on Tuesday's incident. The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. However, many Gazans say they have to walk for hours to reach the sites, meaning they have to start travelling well before dawn if they are to stand any chance of receiving food. While the GHF has said there have been no incidents at its so-called secure distribution sites, Palestinians seeking aid have described disorder and access routes to the sites have been beset by chaos and deadly violence. 'I went there at 2 a.m. hoping to get some food, on my way there, I saw people returning empty-handed, they said aid packages have run out in five minutes, this is insane and isn't enough,' said Mohammad Abu Amr, 40, a father of two. 'Dozens of thousands arrive from the central areas and from the northern areas too, some of them walked for over 20 km (12 miles), only to come back home with disappointment,' he told Reuters via a chat app. He said he heard the firing but didn't see what happened. Israel allowed limited UN-led operations to resume on May 19 after an 11-week blockade in the enclave of 2.3 million people, where experts have warned a famine looms. The UN has described the aid allowed into Gaza as 'drop in the ocean.' Witnesses said at least 40 trucks carrying flour for UN warehouses were looted by desperate displaced Palestinians as well as thieves near Nabulsi roundabout along the coastal road in Gaza City. The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.
