The Guardian / July 12, 2025
The UN said on Saturday that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached “critical levels”. The statement said that fuel supplies were needed to move essential goods across the Gaza Strip and operate a network of bakeries producing fresh bread for the affected population.
It said a lack of fuel meant “lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people”, who the UN said were “teetering on the edge of starvation”.
It added:
Without adequate fuel, Gaza faces a collapse of humanitarian efforts. Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move. Roads and transport will remain blocked, trapping those in need. Telecommunications will shut down, crippling lifesaving coordination and cutting families off from critical information, and from one another.
Without fuel, bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate. Water production and sanitation systems will shut down, leaving families without safe drinking water, while solid waste and sewage pile up in the streets. These conditions expose families to deadly disease outbreaks and push Gaza’s most vulnerable even closer to death.
The UN welcomed the small amount of fuel that entered Gaza this week for the first time in 130 days, but said it was a “small fraction” of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running.
