Since Egypt opened the border with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, trucks carrying aid have been entering Gaza. A third convoy arrived there on Monday. The trucks did not have urgently needed fuel on board: Israel bans the delivery of diesel and gasoline for fear that it could fall into the hands of Hamas. According to the Cogat authority responsible for Gaza, the terrorist organization is already hoarding large amounts of fuel.
Hamas has approximately “one million liters” of fuel in stock, but does not make it available to the civilian population, according to Israeli authorities. “It refuses to distribute them to facilities in need in the Gaza Strip, placing an additional burden on international organizations,” said a post on X (see below).
“Fuel for terror tunnels”
The fuel can be used for hospitals, seawater desalination plants and sewage treatment plants, but Hamas uses the fuel to “light its terror tunnels, fire rockets and for its own homes,” the Cogat authority wrote. There is no independent confirmation of this information.
People have been ‘strangled’
There has been a struggle for days for fuel deliveries to Gaza. Without this, people there, including children and women, would still remain “strangled”, the commissioner-general of the UN aid agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, warned on Monday evening. The UN emphasizes that it is possible to ensure that fuel does not fall into the wrong hands. The fuel is needed, among other things, to continue running power generators in hospitals. UNRWA will exhaust its reserves within the next three days, the UN emergency agency OCHA warned.
Hamas: Fuel consumption in hospitals
Meanwhile, Hamas has said all hospitals in Gaza have run out of fuel, Sky News reports. According to information from the WHO, 150,000 liters of fuel are currently needed to maintain basic operations in the five main hospitals in Gaza.
So far, only water, food and medicine have reached the besieged Gaza Strip via aid convoys. Twenty trucks passed through the border town of Rafah on Saturday, and fourteen on Sunday. The number of trucks on Monday was similar to the other two days, an aid agency worker and security officials said.
Convoy is a “ray of hope”
However, according to the United Nations, 100 trucks are needed every day to meet the basic needs of the population in the Gaza Strip. UN Emergency Aid Coordinator Martin Griffiths said in an interview on the sidelines of a Middle East conference in Cairo on Saturday that it is important that there is no gap in aid flowing across the border. On Sunday, Griffith spoke of a new “glimmer of hope” after the second convoy.
Israel tightened the Gaza Strip after the attack by the radical Islamist Palestinian organization that ruled there on October 7 and has since repeatedly attacked the area from the air. The country has also asked residents to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip. Egypt has finally opened the Rafah border crossing for aid deliveries.
The US hopes for continued assistance
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden discussed aid deliveries on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Washington hopes this will happen regularly. Biden and Netanyahu have reiterated that there will now be a “continued flow of this critical aid to Gaza,” the White House said on Sunday. Biden welcomed the first two convoys to the conversation.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
