TNA Staff
The New Arab / February 8, 2026
A new study warns fuel in Gaza is being deliberately supplied in limited quantities in order to prolong civilian suffering while preventing total collapse.
A recent study by the Palestinian Centre for Political Studies has said that fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip have been transformed into a strategic tool used to control daily life, describing Israel’s post-war fuel policy as one of “managing scarcity” while continuing to impose a crippling siege.
The study, titled Fuel in Gaza: Managing the Minimum of Life as a Weapon of Political Leverage, said fuel is now being allowed in extremely limited quantities to prevent total societal collapse while keeping Gaza’s population in a state of prolonged paralysis and exhaustion.
According to the report, limited and tightly controlled fuel entry during periods of ceasefire is designed not to resolve the humanitarian crisis, but to contain it at the lowest possible threshold.
Fuel shortages have continued in the months following the ceasefire announced last October, with quantities entering the enclave falling far short of basic needs.
This has led to a gradual shutdown of vital sectors, including healthcare, water and sanitation, food production, and municipal services, continuing the humanitarian crisis in what the study described as “quieter but more draining” forms.
Workers at fuel stations told The New Arab’s sister outlet Al-Araby al-Jadeed that supply remains far below demand, driving up prices and sustaining market volatility. They said the absence of a stable supply schedule has resulted in recurring crises, with demand exceeding supply several times over.
A responsible source at Gaza’s Petroleum Authority confirmed that Israel’s fuel restrictions remain in place, despite nearly four months having passed since the end of the war. The source said there has been no substantive change in how fuel supplies are allowed to enter through the crossings.
“The failure to allow sufficient quantities of fuel into Gaza is part of Israel’s siege policy, aimed at increasing civilian suffering and forcing people to rely on primitive alternatives such as firewood”, the source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. He added that this reliance has exacerbated environmental and health crises across the strip.
The source noted a slight improvement in fuel inflows in recent days, which has been reflected in prices, with the cost of diesel falling from 35 shekels (US$11.25) per litre to 25 shekels (US$8.04). He added that further increases in supply would lead to additional price reductions.
On cooking gas, the source said that from the start of the truce until the end of January, only 307 gas trucks entered Gaza, carrying a total of 6,458 tonnes, less than 20 percent of actual population needs. This falls well below understandings reached in the ceasefire deal that stipulated the entry of around 1,500 gas trucks during that period.
Observers say Gaza’s fuel market has also been affected by the presence of a monopoly, with a single trader, operating with Israeli approval, controlling the quantities released to the market.
This, they say, has kept prices high, eliminated genuine competition, and left residents dependent on black-market fuel sold at several times the official price.
Economic researcher Samar Haroun said fuel is a cornerstone of all economies and a key indicator of inflation and price stability, stressing that no economy can function without reliable fuel supplies or sustainable alternatives.
“Gaza is facing a severe fuel crisis as a direct result of Israeli policies during and after the war,” Haroun told Al-Araby al-Jadeed. She said Israel has refused to comply with the agreed humanitarian protocol, which calls for the entry of 50 fuel and gas trucks per day, while allowing at most seven trucks daily.
“What Israel allows in does not exceed one-fifth of actual needs,” she said.
“At a time when relief and reconstruction requirements are increasing, any talk of economic or humanitarian recovery in Gaza remains illusory under the strict restrictions on crossings, especially when fuel is being used to perpetuate suffering rather than end it.”
