“We have lost the main entry point for humanitarian aid,” said Andrea de Domenico, who heads the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Palestinian Territories, in an interview with AFP on Thursday.
Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday, between its territory and southern Gaza, through which much of the aid entered the Palestinian territory, after a Hamas rocket attack that killed four soldiers in the region.
The Israeli army subsequently ordered the evacuation of neighborhoods in the eastern area of Rafah and took control of the border crossing between the southern city of Gaza and Egypt, which was also closed.
Despite Israel’s announcement about the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday, Domenico says sending aid remains “extremely difficult.”
And the Rafah control point, where all the fuel used in Gaza enters, remains closed.
“There are no fuel reserves in Gaza, which means there is no movement. This completely paralyzes humanitarian operations,” he explains.
The war in Gaza began on October 7 with Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel, which left more than 1,170 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.
In retaliation, Israel began an offensive that has left more than 34,900 people dead, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the territory governed since 2007 by Hamas.
For months, the international community has been demanding more aid into the territory, where the north is already officially in a famine, according to the executive director of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain.
Before the closure of Rafah and faced with the threat of an Israeli offensive against this city, the UN had been requesting for several weeks alternative ways to supply fuel to the territory.
Israel assured the United Nations that it is trying to find a solution, but warned that it will probably not be possible to transport the 200,000 liters per day that humanitarian organizations consider necessary.
The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that hospitals in southern Gaza only had fuel for three more days.
And Unicef director Catherine Russell highlighted that if fuel is not allowed to enter, “the consequences will be felt almost immediately”.
“Vital support services for premature babies will be left without power, children and families will become dehydrated or consume harmful water,” he said.
In addition to the lack of fuel, humanitarian convoys face security issues.
“It’s crazy. There are tanks everywhere, they have troops on the ground, they are bombing the area east of Rafah and they want us to leave to remove fuel or basic products,” said Domenico.
“They know we simply can’t go,” he insists.
Food reserves are running low and medical treatments for malnourished children may be suspended due to lack of products, he warns.
The situation could worsen after nearly 80,000 residents flee eastern Rafah. “This means we have 80,000 people who, for the most part, need a lot of support.”
Israeli operations in the city also threaten the few functioning hospitals in southern Gaza, warns Domenico.
“It is unimaginable that we force human beings into such a terrible and inhumane experience,” he said. “It’s a disaster.”
