As fuel runs out in Gaza, hospitals stall, famine spreads, and the UN pleads for urgent aid to prevent a catastrophic surge in deaths.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a devastating new low, with the United Nations warning that the enclave is at a “critical point” due to an unrelenting Israeli blockade that has choked off essential fuel supplies. The result: hospitals rationing power, ambulances grinding to a halt, and vital water systems teetering on collapse.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a grave statement this week, stressing that the territory’s remaining fuel stocks are nearly depleted. Without immediate and sustained fuel deliveries, Gaza faces a rapidly escalating death toll.
“Hospitals are rationing. Ambulances are stalling. Water systems are on the brink,” OCHA declared. “The deaths this is likely causing could soon increase sharply unless Israeli authorities allow new fuel in – urgently, regularly, and in sufficient quantities.”
Since early March, Israel has enforced a total siege on Gaza, allowing only limited food aid in — primarily through a U.S.-backed distribution system that has itself been marred by deadly incidents of Israeli fire on waiting civilians. Fuel, however, has not entered the territory for months, despite its critical role in sustaining hospitals, water systems, and emergency services.
Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, described the humanitarian operation in Gaza as near collapse. “Famine is spreading, and people are dying trying to find food,” he said, highlighting a lack of fuel, spare parts, and communications equipment. “Our teams are often caught in the crossfire.”
At Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the strip, the situation is now beyond urgent. “We don’t have enough fuel left until morning,” said Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the hospital’s director. “Generators cannot run, and hospitals find it difficult to provide care. Patients will be doomed to certain death.”
He added that blood banks, neonatal units, and oxygen stations are already out of operation due to fuel shortages.
This crisis is further compounded by collapsing sanitation infrastructure. Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported a sharp increase in preventable diseases such as meningitis, particularly among children. “The catastrophic conditions in shelters, the severe shortage of drinking water, the spread of sewage, and the accumulation of waste are driving the health situation to further deterioration,” the ministry stated.
Amid continued bombardments, displacement, and an eroded healthcare system, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis now risks spiraling into a full-blown public health catastrophe. The international community’s silence, aid agencies warn, could be deadly.