UN urges reopening Gaza crossings as aid access tighten

Gaza’s hospitals and water systems in the Strip could stall within days due to the fuel crisis after Israel closed all entry points. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to reopen the crossings “as soon as possible,” after aid convoys were halted and UN movements were suspended near Israeli troop deployments, as reported by The Arab World and agencies on March 2.

Israeli authorities have closed every Gaza crossing, including Rafah, and have not indicated when operations will resume. The shutdown began on February 28, after Israel announced air strikes on Iran with US support. Israel says the crossings cannot be operated safely during war, Gaza officials and aid groups say the move is tightening supplies of fuel and basic foodstuffs.

Gaza relies on trucked-in fuel from Israel and Egypt, and aid agencies warn that shortages would quickly hit hospitals, ambulances, water pumping and sanitation services. Most residents are displaced after two years of war, and families say the closures are reviving fears of hunger after last year’s aid blockage.

“I expect we have maybe a couple of days’ running time,” said Karuna Herrmann, the Jerusalem director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which manages fuel distribution in Gaza. Amjad Al-Shawa, a Gaza-based humanitarian coordinator working with the UN and NGOs, estimated fuel could last three to four days and warned that vegetables, flour and other essentials may also run short if the crossings remain shut. 

Israel’s COGAT, the military agency overseeing access to Gaza, said enough food had been delivered since an October truce and that existing stocks should suffice “for an extended period,” without detailing quantities. 

UN officials based their statement on the relevant International humanitarian law, which requires parties to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of impartial relief for civilians in need, subject to inspection and security screening. The Fourth Geneva Convention protects the passage of essential medical and relief consignments and, where occupation is found, obliges the responsible power to accept relief schemes when the population is inadequately supplied.

Customary rules also prohibit starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and require protection for medical services and objects indispensable to civilian survival.

Arab World plus agencies, maghrebi.org