By IINA,
Geneva : Head of the Geneva office for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said yesterday that United Nations humanitarian and development agencies called on Israel to immediately resume the distribution of sufficient fuel to Gaza Strip to allow Palestinians there to go about their normal daily lives. He added that eight UN bodies found the current situation is a threat to the health and well-being of the population of Gaza Strip, 56 percent of whom are children. Burchard added that a joint statement signed by eight UN bodies said that the work of the United Nations organizations in Gaza has been severely hampered affecting schools, health facilities, and food distribution.
Israel ceased all fuel supplies to Gaza, which was already suffering from shortages, after an attack on April 9 by Palestinian fighters, on a fuel terminal in Nahal Oz, southern Israel, the sole overland conduit into the Strip. The current absence of fuel at petrol stations, said the eight agencies, has meant that normal transportation has ceased. Burchard added that this meant that many students have been unable to get to school, and many health professionals have been unable to get to hospitals and clinics. There have been difficulties transporting essential items such as food throughout Gaza.