Hospitals in south Gaza will run out of fuel in three days, WHO warns

The already critically undersupplied hospitals have only three days of fuel left, WHO chief warns as aid shipments also impeded.

There is enough fuel to run hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip for only three more days, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warns after Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing.

Israel on Tuesday sent ground troops and tanks into the city of Rafah and seized the nearby crossing into Egypt that is the main conduit for aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said fuel that the United Nations health agency had expected to be allowed in on Wednesday had been blocked.

Israeli authorities control the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“The closure of the border crossing continues to prevent the UN from bringing fuel. Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop. Border closures are also impeding delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Tedros said on X, formerly Twitter.

“Hospitals in the south of Gaza only have three days of fuel left, which means services may soon come to a halt.”