Emergency crews in Gaza have been forced to suspend critical safety operations as a deepening shortage of fuel and the collapse of essential machinery bring their work to a standstill. The halt has left damaged buildings unstable and entire neighbourhoods at risk, further tightening the grip of a genocidal war on daily civilian life.

Since the pause in large-scale fighting earlier in the autumn, rescue teams had managed to assess and reduce dangers in thousands of structures scarred by bombardment. Even so, a far greater number of calls for help remain unanswered. Families sheltering in or near weakened buildings now face the constant threat of collapse, with no immediate prospect of professional intervention.

Officials within the service say their capacity never exceeded a fraction of what was required. With fuel supplies exhausted and specialist equipment no longer functioning, crews can neither move vehicles nor operate tools needed to clear debris or stabilise ruins. The cumulative effect, they warn, is a slow-burn humanitarian emergency unfolding away from the headlines but rooted in the same genocidal war that devastated the buildings in the first place.

Appeals have been directed at external actors with influence over the situation to facilitate the entry of fuel and rescue materials. Without swift action, the suspension of operations is expected to prolong displacement, increase casualties from secondary incidents, and deepen the sense that even survival work is being systematically constrained.