RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The United Nations (U.N.) issued a warning on Wednesday, stating that it is close to running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip. This shortage will result in a significant reduction in relief efforts in the area, which has been blockaded and devastated by Israeli airstrikes since Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel over two weeks ago. The U.N.’s warning coincided with hospitals in Gaza struggling to treat a large number of wounded individuals with limited resources. Additionally, the U.N.’s top official faced criticism from Israel after suggesting that the Hamas massacre that triggered the conflict did not occur “in a vacuum.”
Health officials reported a sharp increase in the death toll as Israeli jets continued to bombard Gaza. Civilians, including many children, were being pulled out of rubble-filled landscapes in various cities across the territory. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, more than 750 people were killed in the past 24 hours. However, the exact death toll could not be independently verified, and it was uncertain whether or not militants were included in the count.
The Israeli military, claiming that Hamas operates among civilians, stated that its strikes targeted militants and military installations. In response to the conflict, Gaza militants have launched a continuous barrage of rockets into Israel.
The escalating death toll in Gaza, surpassing the reported 704 deaths the day before, was unprecedented in the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The situation could worsen if Israel initiates a ground offensive against Hamas, an Islamic militant group dedicated to Israel’s destruction.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued a warning about dwindling fuel supplies, raising concerns that the humanitarian crisis could deteriorate rapidly. Gaza’s population has been facing shortages of food, water, and medicine due to the Israeli blockade. Approximately 1.4 million residents out of a total of 2.3 million have been displaced from their homes, with nearly half of them seeking refuge in U.N. shelters.
Israel recently allowed a small number of aid trucks to enter from Egypt but prohibited fuel deliveries, as it believed Hamas would seize the fuel. To continue providing aid, UNRWA has been using its own fuel reserves, which are depleting. This fuel shortage is critical for operating generators and essential services such as baking, desalinating water, and powering hospitals’ life-saving equipment. If current efforts continue, the fuel will run out by Thursday, forcing UNRWA to decide how to ration its remaining supply.
More than half of Gaza’s primary healthcare facilities and approximately one-third of its hospitals have ceased operations, according to the World Health Organization. Doctors Without Borders reported alarming infection rates at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital due to the lack of medicine and clean water. Amputations are frequently necessary to prevent infections from spreading among the wounded patients.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp, a strike resulted in the deaths of the wife, son, daughter, and grandson of Wael Dahdouh, one of Al Jazeera TV’s chief correspondents. Heart-wrenching footage showed Dahdouh grieving over his son’s body on a hospital floor, questioning why the innocent children were targeted.
Throughout Gaza City’s Yarmouk neighborhood, extensive damage and destruction were observed, with bleeding individuals emerging from the wreckage. A bakery in Deir al-Balah was completely flattened, and nearby hospitals were treating severely injured children. In the southern city of Rafah, workers recovered a deceased infant from the debris of 15 homes hit during airstrikes.
The conflict’s impact is spreading throughout the region. The Israeli military reported that it had struck military sites in Syria in response to rocket attacks from the country. Syrian state media stated that eight soldiers were killed and seven were injured in the strikes. The airstrikes in Syria targeted airports in Aleppo and Damascus to disrupt arms shipments from Iran to militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has been engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with Iranian-backed Hezbollah on the Lebanese border.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, held a reported meeting with senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials, potentially suggesting coordination between the groups. Hezbollah officials warned against an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.
Hamas’s unexpected attack on October 7th in southern Israel shocked the country with its brutality and high casualty count. It also raised concerns about intelligence agencies failing to anticipate the attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that he would be held accountable, but only after Hamas was defeated.
U.S. President Joe Biden stressed the importance of Israelis, Palestinians, and their partners working towards a two-state solution once the conflict concludes. He also condemned increasing attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, urging them to cease immediately. Settler attacks have contributed to the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, including clashes between militants, Israeli troops, and shootings of stone-throwing protesters. Health authorities have reported that at least 104 Palestinians have been killed.
Following U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ statement that Hamas’ attack did not occur in a vacuum, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, announced that his country would halt visa issuance to U.N. personnel. It remains unclear how this potential action would affect U.N. aid workers operating in Gaza and the West Bank. Erdan accused the U.N. chief of justifying a massacre and claimed that it was time to teach the U.N. a lesson.
Guterres clarified that his statement was misinterpreted, emphasizing that he did not justify acts of terror by Hamas but rather highlighted the grievances and collective punishment faced by the Palestinian people.
(AP)