The Gaza humanitarian crisis is entering a more dangerous phase as restrictions on essential fuel-related materials threaten hospitals, water systems, bakeries and humanitarian operations. Although the United Nations reported a 33 percent increase in aid deliveries during July, the improvement has not resolved shortages of engine oil, spare parts, durable shelter equipment or medical supplies.
The latest warning focuses on a problem that is less visible than food shortages but equally significant. Humanitarian operations depend on engine oil to keep vehicles, generators, water pumps, ambulances and other equipment running. Without those supplies, aid deliveries may continue in limited quantities while the infrastructure required to distribute aid gradually collapses.
The Arab News report, based on information from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), also links Gaza’s deteriorating conditions with a reported Israeli military operation in Qalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Together, the developments show how the protection crisis extends from Gaza’s damaged hospitals and shelters to Palestinian homes in the West Bank.
Fuel Restrictions and Essential Services
Why engine oil matters
Engine oil is an essential operational supply for humanitarian agencies. It allows ambulances, aid trucks, generators, water pumps, sewage systems and other machinery to function. When it is unavailable, the impact extends far beyond transport and logistics.
OCHA said humanitarian partners had repeatedly been denied approval to bring engine oil and spare parts into Gaza. Supplies entering through private-sector channels were reportedly insufficient to compensate for the shortfall.
“Repeated rejections by Israeli authorities of requests to bring engine oil into Gaza threaten to shut down critical operations at hospitals, water-pumping stations and bakeries,”
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned.
The warning indicates that Gaza’s civilian infrastructure is operating close to failure. Hospitals may be forced to reduce services if generators cannot run reliably. Bakeries may be unable to produce sufficient bread, while water-pumping stations may operate for shorter periods or stop altogether.
A United Nations humanitarian report previously warned that restrictions on generators, engine oil and vehicle spare parts were causing widespread system failures. The consequences included reduced health and sanitation services, difficulties removing debris and declining mobility for humanitarian teams. Hundreds of generators, water wells, desalination plants, pumping stations and tanker fleets were reportedly at risk of irreversible failure.
Water, sanitation and public health
The fuel shortage is therefore directly connected to public health. Water networks require pumps and generators, while sanitation systems need machinery to remove wastewater and prevent sewage from accumulating in densely populated areas.
OCHA reported that engine-oil shortages were disrupting essential water and sanitation services and increasing the risk of sewage overflows.
“Engine oil shortages continue to disrupt essential water and sanitation services, increasing the risk of sewage overflows and public health hazards,”
OCHA stated.
This danger is amplified by Gaza’s extreme displacement. Approximately 1.9 million of the territory’s 2.1 million residents remain displaced, according to UNICEF’s mid-year humanitarian assessment. Many families are living in overcrowded locations with limited access to clean water, sanitation and medical care.
When water systems fail, residents are forced to depend on private suppliers, water trucking or unsafe sources. This increases the risk of dehydration, infectious diseases and poor hygiene. In overcrowded displacement sites, the breakdown of sanitation can quickly become a wider epidemic threat.
More Aid Does Not Mean Recovery
The July increase
The United Nations reported that the overall volume of aid entering Gaza increased by 33 percent in July compared with June. The volume reportedly approached the levels recorded before the war between the United States and Israel began at the end of February. Approximately 60 percent of the supplies consisted of food, followed by shelter materials, water, sanitation, hygiene and healthcare items.
The increase is important, but it should not be confused with humanitarian recovery. Aid deliveries can rise while essential systems continue to deteriorate. Food shipments may reach families, yet hospitals may lack fuel, water pumps may remain inoperable and displaced people may still receive only temporary tents.
OCHA reported that more than 55,800 pallets of aid were offloaded at Kerem Shalom Crossing for collection by United Nations agencies and partner organizations during July. Humanitarian partners also distributed general food assistance to approximately 217,000 households, representing more than 821,000 people.
These figures demonstrate an expansion of humanitarian operations, but they also reveal the scale of the challenge. Gaza’s population remains almost entirely dependent on external assistance, while the infrastructure needed to deliver and sustain that assistance has been heavily damaged.
Fragile food-security gains
Food-security conditions improved during the reporting period because of expanded humanitarian assistance and commercial traffic. However, the improvement remains vulnerable to renewed restrictions, funding shortages and disruptions to aid access.
The United Nations estimated that approximately 1.4 million people, or 67 percent of Gaza’s population, continued to face crisis-level or worse food insecurity. Around 212,000 people remained in emergency conditions classified as IPC Phase 4.
“Food security and child nutrition have improved across the Gaza Strip largely due to a scale-up in humanitarian assistance and commercial traffic, but progress remains fragile and could quickly reverse,”
the United Nations warned.
This assessment is crucial to understanding the Gaza humanitarian crisis. The issue is not simply whether conditions have improved compared with an earlier period. The question is whether those improvements can be sustained. If aid coverage declines, food prices rise, fuel shortages deepen or border access becomes more restrictive, recent gains may disappear rapidly.
Shelter and Infrastructure Destruction
Temporary tents cannot replace durable shelter
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people remain unable to obtain durable shelter equipment. According to the report, humanitarian organizations have mostly been permitted to deliver temporary tents that are vulnerable to weather, overcrowding and repeated displacement.
This creates a serious protection problem. Families living in fragile tents face exposure to heat, rain, disease and insecurity. Temporary shelters may provide immediate cover, but they cannot restore privacy, safety or stability to households that have lost their homes.
UNICEF reported that displaced families were crowded into approximately one-third of the Gaza Strip, surrounded by destroyed buildings, rubble and accumulated waste. Children were exposed to unsafe water, damaged sanitation systems, disease and acute malnutrition.
The shelter emergency is made worse by the scale of destruction. Approximately 82 percent of Gaza’s structures—around 200,000 buildings—were reportedly damaged. About two-thirds of those structures were assessed as destroyed, while the number of destroyed structures increased by 9 percent after the October 2025 ceasefire.
These figures indicate that the ceasefire did not produce a meaningful recovery environment. A cessation of large-scale fighting cannot by itself restore civilian life when homes, hospitals, schools, water networks and roads remain destroyed or unusable.
Reconstruction remains blocked
Reconstruction requires more than cement, steel and machinery. It also requires fuel, generators, rubble-removal equipment, water systems and reliable access for technical teams. Restrictions on engine oil and spare parts therefore obstruct both emergency relief and long-term rebuilding.
OCHA also reported that the number of families receiving shelter assistance fell by 37 percent from May to June because of funding shortages. This means that humanitarian agencies face several simultaneous obstacles: restricted access, shortages of operational supplies, inadequate funding and continuing displacement.
The result is a cycle of dependency. Families cannot return home because their houses are destroyed. They cannot build durable shelters because materials are restricted. Humanitarian agencies cannot provide adequate services because their equipment lacks fuel and spare parts. Without a broader reconstruction framework, temporary aid can only manage the consequences of destruction rather than reverse them.
Civilian Protection Across Gaza and Qalandia
Protection is more than physical survival
The Gaza humanitarian crisis is also a protection crisis. Protection includes access to healthcare, food, clean water, safe shelter, freedom from arbitrary detention and the ability to live without repeated displacement.
UNICEF reported that at least 300 children had reportedly been killed in Gaza during the 300 days since the October 2025 ceasefire announcement.
“They must protect children, safeguard their access to essential goods and services, including healthcare, education, safe water and food, and allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to children in need,”
UNICEF said.
The statement places civilian protection within a broader humanitarian framework. Children are not protected simply because aid trucks enter Gaza. They also require functioning hospitals, safe water, education, sanitation, adequate food and secure living conditions.
The United Nations has repeatedly emphasized that fuel is necessary for all of these services. In an earlier joint warning, UN agencies described fuel as the backbone of survival in Gaza and said that without it, health services, clean water and aid delivery would disappear.
The Qalandia operation
The Arab News report also describes an Israeli military operation in Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem. The operation reportedly lasted nearly two days, injured more than 50 Palestinians and damaged dozens of homes and businesses. Palestinian residents said Israeli forces took over homes and used some of them as interrogation centres.
Further reporting cited 51 injuries and extensive property damage. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society alleged that more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, were detained or subjected to field interrogation.
These claims should be attributed carefully because the available figures come from Palestinian residents, authorities and rights organizations. The linked Arab News report does not include a detailed Israeli military response to the Qalandia allegations.
Nevertheless, the reported operation illustrates the broader protection environment in the occupied Palestinian territory. Home seizures, property damage, displacement, detention and restricted movement affect civilians’ ability to access work, healthcare, education and basic services. The conditions in Qalandia are not identical to those in Gaza, but both reflect the erosion of civilian security and control over one’s living environment.
Security, Access and Responsibility
Humanitarian access is affected by several interacting factors. Israeli restrictions on fuel, engine oil, spare parts and shelter materials are identified by OCHA as major obstacles. At the same time, insecurity, military operations, funding shortages and alleged interference with aid distribution also make it difficult for assistance to reach civilians.
Reuters reported that a United Nations official accused Hamas-linked armed men of disrupting aid distribution and assaulting two truck drivers at a World Food Programme warehouse.
“They are placing humanitarian workers at risk, disrupting the delivery of life-saving assistance, and further constraining the ability of humanitarian organizations to operate,”
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi Alakbarov said.
This allegation should be considered alongside the restrictions imposed on aid entering Gaza. Humanitarian operations can be undermined both before supplies enter the territory and after they arrive. Border restrictions, insecurity, attacks on aid workers, looting and interference can combine to prevent assistance from reaching vulnerable communities.
The linked report attributes the rejection of engine-oil requests to Israeli authorities but does not provide a direct Israeli explanation. A balanced analysis should therefore distinguish between what OCHA documented and what remains an unstated Israeli position. Any security justification should be included only through an official statement from the Israeli government, military or COGAT.
United Nation Analysis of the Humanitarian Outlook
The most important conclusion is that the Gaza humanitarian crisis cannot be assessed by aid volume alone. The 33 percent increase in July deliveries and the distribution of food to hundreds of thousands of households are significant, but they have not eliminated the shortages threatening hospitals, bakeries, water systems and sanitation services.
The United Nations assessment shows that Gaza’s recovery is being undermined at the operational level. Hospitals need generators and engine oil. Water systems need pumps and spare parts. Aid agencies need functioning vehicles. Displaced families need durable shelter. Reconstruction teams need access to damaged areas and equipment capable of removing rubble.
Without these inputs, humanitarian gains remain temporary. Food insecurity may improve for a period, but the situation can deteriorate rapidly if aid coverage declines or essential systems fail.
“When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of catastrophe,”
United Nations humanitarian agencies warned in a joint statement.
The warning from Gaza’s hospitals to Qalandia’s homes is therefore about more than a collection of separate incidents. It describes a continuing erosion of civilian protection across the occupied Palestinian territory. The immediate priority is unrestricted and sustained humanitarian access, including fuel, engine oil, spare parts, medical supplies, water equipment and durable shelter materials.
A genuine recovery will require more than temporary aid increases. It will require the restoration of infrastructure, protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, accountability for abuses, and a political framework capable of ending the conditions that keep Gaza and the West Bank trapped in repeated cycles of destruction and displacement.
