GAZA, Thursday, June 27, 2024 (WAFA) – 18 ambulances have ceased to operate in the war-torn Gaza Strip due to the lack of fuel, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced today.
The PRCS voiced its concern in a press statement that 18 PRCS ambulances have ceased to operate in the Strip due to the lack of fuel, corresponding to 36 percent of the capability of the PRCS ambulance fleet.
It said that it had not received its fuel ration through the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) for eight days due to blocking the entry of fuel by the Israeli occupation to the Strip, noting that the PRCS fuel ration covered only 10 percent of the operational capacity of its ambulance fleet.
Before it no longer received its fuel ration, PRCS noted that the quantity of fuel it used to receive dropped from 10 to only 3 percent of the daily need of its ambulance fleet.
It warned that its response in terms of providing first and emergency services in the coming days would see a steady decline due to the scarcity of fuel, particularly that the Rafah border crossing was still closed down by the Israeli occupation for 52 days, while noting that the quantities of fuel allowed into Gaza via the Karm Abu Salem crossing does not meet the needs of the medical and relief sectors.
It called upon the international community to urgently intervene to reopen the Rafah border crossing and ensure the flow of humanitarian assistance, especially fuel, to the Strip to prevent the complete collapse of the health system, particularly after not only did electricity generators in hospitals cease to operate, but also ambulances, water desalination plants and wastewater networks ceased to operate.
Israel has proceeded with its genocidal offensive on the war-torn Strip in a complete disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), that ordered Israel in a legally binding decision to halt its military offensive in Rafah, which may violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, killing at least 37,765 Palestinians and injuring over 86,429 others.
Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
K.F.
