The Israeli military took control of the Palestinian side of Gaza's southern Rafah crossing on Tuesday, which has been central for the delivery of aid and the exit of injured people in the Gaza war.
United Nations agencies said the two main crossings into the southern Gaza Strip remained shut, virtually cutting off the Palestinian enclave from outside aid with few stocks positioned inside.
The global agency's humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists Israel had shut both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings for aid and people as part of its military operation in Rafah, where around one million displaced people are sheltering.
Main aid arteries cut off
The Israeli military said a limited operation in Rafah was meant to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which governs the besieged Palestinian territory.
"The two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza are currently choked off," Laerke said, adding UN agencies had very low stocks inside the Gaza Strip since humanitarian supplies were consumed immediately. The enclave has just a one-day buffer of fuel stocks, he said.
"If no fuel comes in for a prolonged period of time it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave," he said.
There are fears for the more than a million displaced Palestinians sheltering in Rafah if humanitarian aid remains cut off. Source: Getty / AFP
No exceptions for sick and injured patients
A World Health Organization spokesperson said in response to a journalist's question that no exceptions were being made for sick and injured patients.
While some non-fuel supplies have entered Gaza via the northern Erez crossing in recent days, the UN agencies said this was insufficient and difficult to deliver to Rafah since it meant crossing active combat zones.
"Erez will simply not be enough," said James Elder, a spokesperson for the United Nations children's agency.
"If Rafah gate closes for an extended period, it's hard to see how famine in Gaza can be averted," he said.
If Rafah gate closes for an extended period, it's hard to see how famine in Gaza can be averted.UN spokesperson James Elder
The Israeli military said a limited operation in Rafah was meant to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which governs the besieged Palestinian territory.
The World Food Programme said later on social media platform X that its stocks would only last between one and four days for the southern and central parts of Gaza.
Supplies running low
Even before the latest escalation in the seven-month-old conflict, the United Nations had repeatedly accused Israel of restricting aid access despite famine warnings. Faced with growing international pressure, Israel had pledged to improve access but says UN agencies are to blame for not distributing aid more efficiently within the enclave.
UN agencies said they had pre-stocked some aid within Rafah but said there were very low supplies of water and high-energy nutrition supplies needed to treat malnourished children.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' 7 October attack in which more than 1,100 people were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
More than 34,700 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The 7 October attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
