The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned that it will run out of fuel in three days in the Gaza Strip, critical to its humanitarian response across the besieged enclave.

In a statement issued on Sunday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarnin said: “Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance.”

“No fuel will further strangle the children, women and people of Gaza”, said Lazzarini.

“UNRWA is the largest humanitarian actor in the Gaza Strip. Without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch. This cannot and should not happen”, he added.

The UN official called on all parties and those with influence over them to immediately allow fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip and to ensure that fuel is strictly used to prevent a collapse of the humanitarian response.

 “I welcome yesterday’s convoy into Gaza, the first in two weeks of a very tight siege impacting 2 million people. It is, however, far from enough. To be meaningful, Gaza needs an uninterrupted and scaled up humanitarian supply line”, said Lazzarini. 

UNRWA said it is currently hosting more than half a million people out of nearly 1 million displaced across the Gaza Strip.