First responders in Gaza say running out of supplies

First responders in Gaza said Thursday that their operations were at a near standstill, more than two months into a full “Israeli” blockade that has left food and fuel in severe shortage.

"Seventy-five percent of our vehicles have stopped operating due to a lack of diesel fuel," the civil defence agency's spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

He added that its teams, who play a critical role as first responders in the Gaza Strip, were also facing a "severe shortage of electricity generators and oxygen devices".

For weeks, UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations have warned of dwindling supplies of everything from fuel and medicine to food and clean water in the coastal territory that is home to 2.4 million Palestinians.

"It is unacceptable that humanitarian aid is not allowed into the Gaza Strip," Pierre Krahenbuhl, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told reporters in Geneva Thursday.

The situation in Gaza is on a "razor's edge" and "the next few days are absolutely decisive", he added.

The UN's agency for children, UNICEF, warned that Gaza's children face "a growing risk of starvation, illness and death" after UN-supported kitchens shut down due to lack of food supplies.

Over 20 independent experts mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council demanded action on Wednesday to avert the "annihilation" of Palestinians in Gaza.

Senior civil defence official Mohammad Mughayyir told AFP that “Israeli” bombardment across Gaza on Thursday killed 21 people, including nine in a strike that targeted the Abu Rayyan family home in the northern city of Beit Lahia.

“No food or drink”

Hind Joba, the hospital's laboratory head, said that "there is no food or drink, the crossings are closed, and there is no access to nutritious or protein-rich food".

"Still, people responded to the call, fulfilling their humanitarian duty by donating blood" despite the toll on their own bodies, she added.

"But this blood is vital, and they know that every drop helps save the life of an injured person."

On Monday, “Israel’s” security cabinet approved a new roadmap for military operations in Gaza, aiming for the "conquest" of the territory while displacing its people en masse, drawing international condemnation.

An “Israeli” security official stated that a "window" remained for negotiations on the release of hostages until the end of US President Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf, scheduled from May 13 to 16.

Hamas, which is demanding a "comprehensive and complete agreement" to end the war, on Wednesday denounced what it called attempts by “Israel” to impose a "partial" deal.