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UN warned on The well-being of two million people in Gaza

SHAFAQNA – Israel reimposed a blockade on fuel deliveries to Gaza and Palestinians in Gaza deprived of the most basic elements of a dignified life. The well-being of two million people, half of whom are children, is at stake. Without fuel, Gaza hospitals and sanitation facilities are in danger of closing.

According to Daily Sabah, Israel reimposed a blockade on fuel deliveries to Gaza citing a resurgence of kites carrying firebombs over the border and signaling a brief pause in tensions may be ending. The Israeli move came after two deadly military flare-ups in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and U.N. officials last month.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman banned fuel and gas from entering Gaza on August 2 to protest continued Hamas violence against Israel. He said that he would not lift the ban until Palestinians in Gaza stop launching flaming kites and rockets against Israel and ceased the violent protests at the border, jpost told.

“The decision was made in light of the continued terror with Molotov cocktails and the friction on the fence,” Lieberman’s office said, referring to months of clashes along the Gaza border between the army and Palestinians, as reported by AFP.

A previous ban on fuel deliveries last month had resulted in warnings from U.N. officials that emergency fuel supplies were running low and the shortage was beginning to affect hospitals and water sanitation.

The coastal enclave, suffers from a severe lack of electricity and relies on fuel-powered generators during outages that last hours at a time, Daily Star reported.

Israel closed the crossing to most deliveries on July 9 in response to the firebombs and border tension before tightening the blockade to cover fuel on July 17.

It lifted the fuel ban a week later. Deliveries of food and medicines have continued throughout.

Israel controls all access to and from the Gaza Strip apart from a single crossing with Egypt.

Last month, Israel also banned commercial goods from entering and leaving the coastal enclave.

That crossing, known as Rafah, had been kept largely closed in recent years, but Cairo opened it in mid-May, and it has remained open most of the time since then. The decades-long blockade exacerbated the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which already faces severe shortages of fuel, electricity and water.

Months of tension resulted in two separate military flare-ups in July

Months of tension on the Gaza border resulted in two separate military flare-ups in July.

The first, on July 14, saw dozens of Israeli air strikes that killed two Palestinians, while some 200 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the enclave at Israel in.

It was the most serious exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza since a 2014 war.

On July 20, Israel unleashed a wave of strikes across the territory after a soldier was shot dead on the border. Three Hamas fighters were killed in the strikes.

In July-August 2014 more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has groaned under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade that has gutted its economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many vital commodities, including food, fuel and medicine. In the long-embargoed enclave, the humanitarian situation has gotten worse each.

The strip was heavily battered in July-August 2014 in a war between Israel and Hamas that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side. Its problems are exacerbated by a decade-old Israeli blockade.

Since the rallies along the security fence first kicked off on March 30, more than 130 Palestinian protesters have been killed and thousands more injured by Israeli army gunfire.

Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel. They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of basic commodities.

Israel was criticized by U.N. human rights

Israel was criticized by a U.N. human rights body for its killing of protesters in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians, declaring it a “war crime” under the Statute of Rome. The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new charges of excessive use of force against unarmed.

Gaza has been on the brink of collapse after weeks of violence have left more than 13,000 Palestinians wounded, overwhelming an already disastrously weak health system, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned in late May.

Israel has fought three wars with Palestinian fighters in Gaza since 2008 and says the blockade is necessary to keep them from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used for military purposes.

UN: Israel should allow the passage of fuel and gas into Gaza

Israel should allow the passage of fuel and gas into Gaza to prevent the closure of hospitals in the Strip, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

“Restricting the entry of emergency fuel to Gaza is a dangerous practice, with grave consequences on the rights of people in Gaza,” said Jamie McGoldrick, deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.

The well-being of two million people, half of whom are children, is at stake. “It is unacceptable that Palestinians in Gaza are repeatedly deprived of the most basic elements of a dignified life,” he said.

2,000 patients in Gaza’s hospitals are at risk

Without fuel, Gaza hospitals and sanitation facilities are in danger of closing. Gaza already operates on only about four hours of electricity a day and the fuel is needed to run back-up generators.

Some 2,000 patients in Gaza’s hospitals are particularly at risk, the UN said.

At least 60,000 liters of emergency fuel are needed to keep hospitals, essential water and sanitation services running for the next four days, the UN said.

$4.5 million is needed by mid-August

In addition, due to shortfalls in financial assistance, $4.5 million is needed by mid-August to ensure the continued operation of essential services in Gaza, the UN said.

The UN has warned that fuel stocks in Gaza are currently enough for only 1-2 days and that some 1.2 million Palestinians are at imminent risk of possible sewage overflow around the 41 main sewage pumping stations in the Palestinian territory.

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