Geneva

United Nations agencies have warned that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels.

In a joint statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Food Programme, World Health Organisation, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and United Nations Development Programme said that without fuel, hospitals, bakeries, water networks and ambulances will no longer be able to serve over two million people in the Gaza Strip.

The agencies noted that residents in Gaza are already facing extreme hardship, including widespread food insecurity, and warned that a complete fuel depletion would place an unbearable burden on a population already teetering on the brink of famine.

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The statement stressed that without sufficient fuel, the UN agencies responding to the crisis would be forced to halt operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza.