UNRWA unable to receive aid for Gaza due to lack of fuel for its trucks: Commissioner-general

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was not able to receive aid that entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday through the Rafah border crossing due to a lack of fuel, its commissioner-general said late Tuesday.

“No fuel has entered Gaza since 7 Oct. Our trucks were not able to receive aid coming through the Rafah crossing today,” said Philippe Lazzarini.

“The humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, on which over 2 million people depend, is gradually coming to an end because no fuel has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since 7 October,” he said in a statement.

“UNRWA set off alarm bells over the fuel situation three weeks ago, warning about its fast-depleting supplies and the impact on lifesaving operations. Since then, we have heavily rationed the use of fuel and accessed pre-existing, limited amounts stored in a depot inside the Gaza Strip through close coordination with Israeli authorities,” he added.

“The depot is now empty.“

He said that without fuel, the humanitarian operation in Gaza will stop, and a greater number of people will suffer and are likely to die.

“It is unbelievable that humanitarian agencies have to beg for fuel and operate on life support,” he said.

Affirming that fuel has been used as a weapon since the beginning of the war, he called on all parties "to make fuel available now and stop using humanitarian assistance for political or military gains.”