Gaza’s already fragile emergency infrastructure has reached breaking point as fuel supplies run dry, forcing civil defence teams to halt all vehicle operations. Ambulances, fire engines and rescue units have been taken off the roads, leaving neighbourhoods without any meaningful response capacity as the genocidal war continues to exact its toll. What authorities describe as an engineered scarcity has transformed fuel into a weapon, paralysing life-saving services across the enclave.

Civil defence officials say the shutdown has stopped the recovery of bodies from beneath collapsed buildings, with heavy machinery rendered useless by empty tanks. Each hour of delay compounds the human cost, as victims remain trapped and hazardous debris goes uncleared. The situation has been further strained by harsh winter conditions, which demand constant readiness but now meet an immobilised workforce unable to answer distress calls. The erosion of basic rescue capacity illustrates how the genocidal war has hollowed out Gaza’s most essential protections.

Appeals have been issued to international and humanitarian actors, warning that without immediate fuel deliveries, emergency services will cease altogether. These calls come amid a sustained blockade that continues to restrict the entry of fuel and equipment, deepening a humanitarian catastrophe already defined by shortages of food and medicine. Even arrangements intended to facilitate aid movement have failed to translate into relief on the ground, as restrictions remain firmly in place.

The fuel blockade has accelerated the collapse of vital systems across Gaza, a territory already scarred by mass destruction and displacement. Health authorities report mounting casualties since late 2025, adding to a death toll that has surged into the tens of thousands since the onset of the genocidal war in October 2023. With emergency responders sidelined and civilians exposed, the absence of fuel has become emblematic of a broader strategy that leaves Gaza unable to protect its own population.