The World Health Organization has said it only has enough fuel for three days to support medical operations in southern Gaza, and the shortage has already forced the closure of one of the three remaining hospitals in Rafah.
The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side early Tuesday morning, preventing desperately needed humanitarian aid from entering the country.
The United Nations has announced that northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-scale famine.”
People holding Israeli flags stand in front of a truck carrying humanitarian aid near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, trying to prevent it from entering the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
But U.N. officials say no aid is coming into Gaza and there is no one on the Palestinian side to receive it as fighting continues.
The spokesperson said there were concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers due to falling rockets and other military activities.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday that humanitarian staff are rationing fuel as much as possible.
“But it's clear that we're going to run out of fuel in a matter of hours, if not days,” Dujarric said.
Israeli soldiers work on armored military vehicles at a military post near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel. (AP Photo/Tzafrir Abayov)
The war in Gaza has forced about 80% of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million from their homes and caused extensive destruction of apartments, hospitals, mosques and schools in several cities.
The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500, according to local health authorities.
The war began on October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others.
Israel said insurgents were still holding about 100 hostages and the bodies of more than 30 others.