Fuel shortages, hostilities threaten water supplies in Gaza: UN

OCHA said Israeli authorities must allow the delivery of fuel, in sufficient quantities, into and throughout Gaza. "If these life-saving operations shut down, more people will die."

UNITED NATIONS, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Amid reports of continuing deadly gunfire on Gazans seeking aid, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday that if the fuel blockade on Gaza continues, more people, including children, will die.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said people continued to be killed or injured in the Gaza conflict, including reports of people coming under fire near non-UN militarized aid distribution sites or on routes designated by the Israeli authorities for the world body to collect relief trucks carrying aid.

"Israeli authorities must allow the delivery of fuel, in sufficient quantities, into and throughout Gaza, including to the north," OCHA said. "If these life-saving operations shut down, more people will die."

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported last week: "If the current more than 100-day blockade on fuel coming into Gaza does not end, children will begin to die of thirst."

Fuel is essential to produce, treat and distribute water to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

UNICEF said the number of children admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition surged nearly 50 percent in May compared with April, underscoring the urgent need for domestic water as the systems that produce it collapse.

OCHA said fuel stored in Rafah is being allocated to run critical services in the south, buying some time. However, unless more fuel is allowed into Gaza, these lifelines will very quickly shut down. A successful mission to obtain fuel from Rafah was conducted on Monday.

The humanitarians also voiced concern for the mental health of Gaza's children.

"Caregivers warn that children in Gaza are experiencing mounting psychological stress," OCHA said. "This is driven by the deteriorating conditions, including lack of food. Last week in several displacement sites in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, the UN and its partners provided more than 1,000 children with sessions to help them manage their fears and other difficult emotions."

The office said the world body and its partners provided more than 2,000 caregivers with mental health support services.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported on the Gaza mental health emergency: "Across the strip, the WHO has trained hundreds of front-line humanitarian workers in psychological first-aid to support people and promote a sense of safety among the population."

OCHA said there was another displacement order from the Israeli military.

The office said the latest is for three neighborhoods in Jabalya in the north. At least 30,000 people are assessed to be in those areas. Most of Gaza remains under displacement orders.

"With no shelter supplies allowed into the strip and many existing shelters requiring urgent repairs, partners in Khan Younis are working creatively to recycle wooden pallets received as part of food shipments to rehabilitate and maintain temporary sites," OCHA said. "Just like fuel, shelter materials have been banned for over 16 weeks, at a time when hundreds of thousands of people have been newly displaced."

The office said the United Nations and its partners attempted to coordinate 14 humanitarian movements inside Gaza. But six were denied outright, including the trucking of fuel and water and the retrieval of bodies and broken trucks. Humanitarians were able to conduct health and nutrition activities and remove solid waste. ■