A UN agency warned dwindling fuel supplies could force it to stop aid operations in war-riven Gaza on Wednesday, as calls mounted for a humanitarian “pause” in fighting.
After 18 days of withering Israeli air strikes and a near-total land, sea and air blockade of the Palestinian territory, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned operations were at breaking point.
“If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip,” said the UN agency, which provides aid to 600,000 displaced Gazans.
In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs backed the call of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for the immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas as the number of civilian casualties continues to increase.
“We join the call of the UN Secretary General, hopefully, for a cessation of hostilities or for non-targeting as much as possible of civilians,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said.
However, De Vega clarified the Philippines is not turning its back on the statement of President Marcos expressing support for Israel’s right to self-defense after Hamas launched a surprise assault on the Jewish state on Oct. 7.
“I would like also to clarify that the words we indicate are not to be interpreted to mean that we have turned back on the words of the President regarding our support for the Israelis and the Israeli right of self-defense,” he said.
Guteres earlier called for a humanitarian ceasefire as he made a remark before the UN Security Council.
While he called Hamas’ attacks as “appalling,” Guterres said those did not justify the “collective punishment” that civilians experience in Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the number of Filipinos seeking repatriation from Gaza and other neighboring territories and countries has risen.
Four Filipinos in the West Bank, another Palestinian territory, already signified their intention to leave although it is not directly affected by the Israel-Hamas war, De Vega said.
Those in Gaza remain trapped as its border with Egypt remains closed, he said.
At least 113 of the 17,000 Filipinos in Lebanon also sought repatriation in fear of possible escalation of tension between Israel and Hezbollah fighters, De Vega said.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
Gunmen from the Palestinian group poured into Israel from Gaza, killing more than 1,400 people and taking 222 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to “eliminate Hamas” and ensure it can no longer threaten Israeli civilians.
But there is growing international unease about the impact of Israel’s “Operation Swords of Iron.”
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says 6,546 people have been killed in the territory since the outbreak of war with Israel. The death toll includes 2,704 children.
Aid agencies report hospitals are overwhelmed, generators lack fuel and shelters are heaving under the weight of an estimated 1.4 million displaced – more than half the population.
Since the war began, a few dozen trucks with essential supplies have been allowed to cross the Egyptian border into Gaza, far fewer than needed, according to aid agencies.
The Palestine Red Crescent said on Tuesday it had received the fourth batch of humanitarian aid, consisting of eight trucks.
The supplies have included medicines, food and water, but not fuel, which Israel fears could end up in Hamas’s hands.
Guterres said Gaza was now seeing “epic suffering,” while imploring Israel to safeguard civilians.
“The relentless bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces, the level of civilian casualties and the wholesale destruction of neighbourhoods continue to mount and are deeply alarming,” he told the UN Security Council in New York.
“I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza,” he said.
That warning drew an angry response from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who cited the graphic ways in which Israeli civilians had been killed by Hamas, and demanded: “Mr. secretary-general, in what world do you live?”
Israel and its allies have so far rebuffed calls for a blanket ceasefire, which the White House says would only benefit Hamas.
President Joe Biden has said a full ceasefire can only be considered if and when Hamas releases the more than 200 hostages it is holding in Gaza.
But US officials have since indicated that a more limited “humanitarian pause” in certain areas could help ease civilian suffering.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “Food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.”
His comments came as Israel continued to mass tens of thousands of troops around Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive.
That operation appears to have been stalled by concerns about objectives, the fate of hostages and civilians, and the difficulties of fighting in a densely populated area latticed by underground tunnels.
“There are a lot of obstacles,” an Israeli soldier serving with the military engineering corps told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“The enemy is spraying rockets and other things that I cannot detail to prevent us from progressing.”