Israel’s army he proposed yesterday, Tuesday, to the UN to ask Hamas for fuelafter the agency responsible for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) warned that it would be forced to suspends its operations in the Gaza Strip this evening, if fuel is not delivered to the enclave.

UNRWA posted this warning on Platform X yesterday. The Israel Defense Forces reposted it, adding that Hamas militants have more than 500,000 liters of fuel in tanks in besieged Gaza.

“Ask Hamas if it can give you,” the Israeli military wrote.

Since Israel imposed a “total siege” on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack, efforts are being made to get basic necessities into the Palestinian enclave through Rafah; of the only crossing to Gaza that is not on the border with Israel.

Since Saturday, some deliveries of food, water and medicine have been made, but no fuel. Israel is concerned that the fuel could fall into the hands of Hamas, a concern that White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called yesterday “legitimate.”

“We still believe, in general, that they should be able to get fuel through for the people of Gaza,” he told reporters.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the daily deliveries of aid in Gaza “a drop of aid in an ocean of needs”, while US President Joe Biden estimated that efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians through Rafah are not progressing “fast enough”.

Senior UN official Lynne Hastings told the UN Security Council yesterday that the agency has 400,000 liters of fuel in trucks in Egypt ready to go to Gaza, enough for about two and a half days.

However, Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, accused Hamas of stealing oil from UNRWA and added: “No oil will enter Gaza. Hamas is stealing oil for its military infrastructure.”

Hastings warned that if there is no fuel, “that means the hospitals don’t work, the water doesn’t get desalinated.”

“Many people drink brackish surface water, increasing the risk of diarrhea, cholera and other health problems. We call on Israel to restore water and electricity levels to pre-conflict levels and work with us to find a safe way for fuel to enter Gaza,” he stressed.

The World Health Organization pointed out yesterday that in addition to hospitals that had to be shut down due to damage and attacks, “six hospitals across the Gaza Strip have already closed due to lack of fuel.”