The main United Nations group working in Gaza will have to stop its work soon because it doesn’t have enough fuel. This will make the humanitarian crisis worse. According to Palestinian officials, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have already killed over 700 people in just 24 hours.
Fuel supplies that are necessary to keep hospitals, pumps, and desalination systems running, as well as to power bakeries, are almost finished. In response, the UN Secretary General has asked for a ceasefire to happen right away on Tuesday. This has caused a strong disagreement among members of the United Nations, and Israel is calling for the UN Secretary General to step down.
Doctors in hospitals that are extremely busy and about to close have continuously warned that if they don’t receive fuel, many new patients injured by the bombs and babies relying on oxygen will die.
The worsening health situation, lack of cleanliness, and drinking of unclean, salty water are causing concerns of a health emergency where people could die from lack of fluids as the water system breaks down while bombs continue to fall.
UNRWA said on social media that if we don’t get fuel soon, we will have to stop our operations in #GazaStrip starting tomorrow night. According to Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for UNRWA, Gaza requires a minimum of 160,000 liters (42,267 gallons) of fuel each day for basic needs.
Only 8 out of the 20 aid trucks that were supposed to go to Gaza on Tuesday actually went there, according to UNRWA. There is no clear explanation for why the other 12 trucks couldn’t pass through the Rafah crossing.
According to the World Health Organization, six hospitals in Gaza have had to shut down because they ran out of fuel. This happened because of the Israeli siege that began two weeks ago.
The World Health Organization said that there are 1,000 patients who rely on dialysis, 130 premature babies, and other patients who need electricity to survive. These people are at risk of dying or having medical problems if there is no stable and continuous supply of electricity.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that they will not allow any fuel to enter Gaza. They believe that Hamas will use the fuel for their own needs, like running their systems and carrying out rocket attacks.
The comments contradicted what the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General Herzi Halevi said that they will ensure that there is enough fuel in the places where it is needed to help treat civilians. We won’t give Hamas any fuel to keep fighting against the people of Israel.
Israel’s leaders have promised to destroy Hamas after their deadly attacks on October 7. During these attacks, 1,400 people, mostly innocent civilians, were killed, and over 200 were kidnapped.
Over 700 people were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, which is the highest number in a single day since Israeli attacks on what they called Hamas targets started two and a half weeks ago. This information was shared by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, the people who died were 305 children, 173 women, and 78 elderly individuals.
Around 2 million people, including many children, live in the small coastal strip of Gaza which is only 140 square miles.
Strong feelings were experienced at the UN Security Council on Tuesday when Secretary General António Guterres asked for an immediate stop to fighting in order to protect the wellbeing of people in Gaza. He pointed out that there have been clear disobediences to the rules of humanitarian law.
“According to Guterres, protecting civilians should not involve forcing more than one million people to leave their homes and go to the southern region where there is no place to stay, no food, no water, no medicine, and no fuel. The bombing of the same southern region should also not continue. ”
“It is important to understand that the attacks by Hamas were not isolated incidents,” said Guterres. They have watched their land being taken, their economy being hindered, their people being forced to move, and their homes being destroyed.
He said that the killing and kidnapping done by Hamas on October 7 was very bad, but it doesn’t make it right to punish all the Palestinian people for it. Even in war, there are rules to follow.
The Israeli diplomats quickly reacted in a negative way.
The Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, asked Guterres to step down right away because of his comments. Erdan also said that Guterres is not suitable to lead the United Nations. He shared this message on social media. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the United Nations on Tuesday, said he would not have a meeting with Guterres and that he does not agree with a fair and unbiased approach.
“Cohen wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Hamas should be completely eliminated from the world. ”
The situation in Gaza is getting worse and it’s difficult for countries around the world to agree on what to do.
The US has rejected requests for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, told CNN that before a ceasefire can be considered, Hamas needs to release the hostages they are holding in Gaza.
Ongoing discussions are happening to try and free many people who are being kept captive by Hamas in Gaza. CNN reported on Tuesday that the discussions are being made difficult because of various reasons.
The United States, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Hamas are having ongoing discussions. Four people who were being held captive have been released. Two of them are from the United States and the other two are from Israel. But now, the goal is to agree on a plan to free a larger number of hostages all at the same time.
Israel has decided not to go into Gaza on foot yet, and the US has asked Israel to wait longer before taking action, so that more people held captive by Hamas can be set free.
Foreign Minister Cohen said outside the United Nations on Tuesday that Israel is determined to bring the hostages back home.
Cohen said that there are babies, twins, and holocaust survivors who are trapped, and our main goal is to bring them back home.
The US military advisers have told Israelis to not have a big ground attack in Gaza. They are also telling Israel to not fight in the cities like they did in Iraq. They want to prevent Israel from being stuck in bloody fighting in each house.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to soldiers on Tuesday and indicated that a ground operation was still planned. He stated that they are entering the next stage, which is imminent.