UN agency could be 'forced to stop Gaza aid operations' due to fuel shortage

A UN agency warned it could be forced to stop aid operations in war-riven Gaza on Wednesday due to dwindling fuel supplies, 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, UN refugee agency 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.

Since the war began a few dozen trucks with essential supplies have been allowed to cross the Egyptian border into Gaza, far fewer than necessary according to aid agencies.

The Palestine Red Crescent said 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' hands.

With the shortage in fuel and water, some generous donations — including rice and lentils — could not be used, a UN officer said.

Israel launched its campaign in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 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", which has killed thousands of Palestinians.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry claims 5,791 people have been killed in the war so far, many of them children.