Helping Palestine

Palestinians face food, water shortages in southern Gaza

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned its operations in war-torn Gaza would shut down within two days due to fuel shortages as fighting rages between Israel and Hamas.

“The humanitarian operation in Gaza will grind to a halt in the next 48 hours as no fuel is allowed to enter Gaza,” UNRWA’s Gaza chief Thomas White wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

Israel launched a bombardment of Gaza on October 7 after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

More than 11,200 people, including over 4,000 children, have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities,

After the Hamas attack, Israel cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food to the territory of 2.4 million people, leading to shortages.

Dozens of aid trucks have been allowed in from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, but aid groups have warned the quantity of aid being delivered is nowhere near the level required.

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Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, said about 39 percent of food needs were being met.

“In one of the governorates, people got one or two rounds of bread and a can of tuna for a family, and in Rafah, it was one or two rounds of bread and a can of cheese for the family,” he said.

More than two-thirds of the Palestinians living in Gaza have fled their homes since the war began.

Palestinians line up for food during the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Monday
With two-thirds of Gaza’s population displaced and Israel’s refusal to allow in food, Palestinians in Gaza are dependent on aid to feed themselves. [Hatem Ali/AP Photo]
Palestinians cut wood from trees to be used as fuel in Rafah
Palestinians cut wood from trees to be used as fuel. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A Palestinian cuts wood during the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah
A Palestinian cuts wood during the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah. [Hatem Ali/AP Photo]
Palestinians cook during the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Monday
Palestinians cook in the streets to feed people in a neighbourhood of Rafah. [Hatem Ali/AP Photo]
A Palestinian boy stands near empty shells at a supermarket in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip
A Palestinian boy stands next to empty shells at a supermarket in Rafah. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
Palestinian children fill containers with water in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 13
Palestinian children fill containers with water in Rafah. There has been little water to drink of wash with since Israel’s bombardment began on October 7. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
Palestinians make bread amid debris of destroyed buildings in Rafah
Palestinians make bread on a street covered with debris from destroyed buildings. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A Palestinian boy rides a bicycle amidst debris in Rafah
A Palestinian boy carries food on a bicycle on a street covered in debris. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]

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