UN agency warns Gaza faces imminent food and fuel shortage

The UN’s food assistance agency has issued a warning that critical supplies in Gaza could run out within days, as an impending Israeli ground assault on Rafah causes mass displacement and worsens the humanitarian crisis.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that the increased military activity in southern Gaza has forced hundreds of thousands to flee. The escalating conflict threatens to halt aid operations entirely, the WFP added on May 15.

Since May 6, Israeli forces have intensified their airstrikes and begun ground attacks on Rafah, leading to the displacement of over 810,000 Palestinians, according to the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees.

“Each displacement puts families at severe risk. They have to abandon everything in search of safety, but there is no safe place,” stated UNRWA on Monday.

Due to the heightened conflict, more than 300,000 tons of food stored in warehouses have become “inaccessible,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday.

Additionally, the Egyptian Red Crescent noted that as of last Thursday, 1,574 out of roughly 2,050 trucks carrying food remain stuck in Al Arish on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. This crossing has been closed for two weeks since the Israeli military took control.

On Monday, the General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza highlighted that the closure of Rafah endangers the lives of more than 11,000 wounded individuals who need to be evacuated for treatment abroad.