The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated sharply as severe shortages of fuel and cooking gas threaten the survival of more than two million residents, according to international aid agencies. Relief organizations warn that essential services in the enclave are approaching total collapse as regional conflict and border restrictions disrupt supply routes and limit humanitarian access.
According to the United Nations and Gaza’s Energy Authority, cooking gas currently covers less than three percent of the population’s needs, leaving most households unable to prepare food. Officials say that even before the latest escalation, gas deliveries since the October ceasefire had been insufficient, creating a deficit estimated at roughly seventy percent compared with normal demand.
Access to the enclave has been sharply reduced as the regional conflict intensified. Most border crossings remain closed, with only the Kerem Shalom crossing partially reopened for humanitarian supplies.
Despite the limited reopening, humanitarian organizations say the fuel entering Gaza remains far below operational requirements. United Nations data indicate that about 1.4 million liters of fuel have been delivered in recent shipments, far short of the roughly two million liters per week required simply to keep aid operations functioning.
The shortage has forced hospitals, water facilities, and sanitation services to ration their remaining fuel supplies. Aid officials warn that medical services and humanitarian programs could shut down entirely if deliveries do not increase quickly.
With cooking gas nearly unavailable, families across Gaza are resorting to increasingly dangerous methods to prepare food.
Local authority data indicate that about 54 percent of households now rely on firewood while roughly 43 percent burn waste or plastic materials. Health workers say these practices produce toxic smoke that is contributing to rising respiratory infections, particularly among children and pregnant women.
The situation is especially alarming in overcrowded shelters where displaced families live with limited ventilation.
The crisis has also coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, when families traditionally prepare meals before dawn and after sunset. For many displaced residents however cooking has become nearly impossible.
Aid groups say thousands of families are skipping meals because they cannot afford firewood or cannot safely light fires inside crowded shelters, particularly during rainy periods. Food security specialists warn that the energy shortage is now directly worsening malnutrition risks because many households receiving food aid lack the means to cook it.
Fuel shortages have also crippled municipal sanitation services.
In Gaza City authorities estimate that more than 350,000 cubic meters of solid waste have accumulated in streets and temporary dumping sites because garbage trucks lack fuel. Public health experts warn that the growing piles of waste could trigger disease outbreaks, particularly as temperatures rise.
Human rights organizations say women and girls are carrying a disproportionate burden during the crisis. Medical workers report rising neonatal complications linked to smoke inhalation and the inability to sterilize medical equipment or boil water for infant formula.
Doctors say the lack of reliable electricity and sterilization capacity is placing newborns at heightened risk of infection.
In a recent statement Gaza’s Energy Authority warned that the halt in supplies could trigger what it described as a looming disaster for the enclave’s food security.
Meanwhile the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating aid deliveries maintains that sufficient food shipments have entered the territory since the ceasefire. Humanitarian agencies operating in Gaza strongly dispute that assessment arguing that fuel shortages and access restrictions prevent effective distribution and preparation of food supplies.
Humanitarian officials warn that without a rapid increase in fuel deliveries and broader humanitarian access Gaza’s fragile infrastructure could fail entirely. Hospitals water systems and aid operations are already running on emergency reserves and relief agencies say time is running out.
