New York - (Saba):
The United Nations said today that the Israeli occupation forces continue to prevent fuel shipments from entering Gaza for the 16th consecutive week, warning of the disastrous consequences of these practices on the lives of the residents of the Strip.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said during a press conference that "Israel has been preventing fuel shipments from entering Gaza for 16 weeks."
He noted that UN officials were able to retrieve a quantity of fuel already in the Gaza Strip from the Tahrir Station in Rafah last Wednesday.
He stated that a limited amount of this fuel was delivered on Thursday to public facilities in the southern Gaza Strip, allowing the continued operation of desalination plants, water distribution trucking services, and sewage pumping stations.
The UN official revealed that fuel was also sent to the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, but that "the lack of fuel is restricting operations and leading to a reduction in working hours and capacity."