HAMILTON, Canada

The UN sounded the alarm Tuesday about the collapse of essential health care services in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli authorities continue to block access to critical fuel and aid.

"Our humanitarian partners report that access to essential health care remains extremely limited for people across the Gaza Strip, particularly the most vulnerable groups," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

Dujarric said more than 150,000 women are at risk of developing serious health complications.

"The fuel situation is rapidly deteriorating, with accessible benzene nearly depleted and these diesel reserves critically low," he warned that remaining stocks are being prioritized for health care, water sanitation and telecommunications systems.

"Our humanitarian partners have made repeated attempts to retrieve fuel from areas that are currently inaccessible, either because they're under active displacement orders or located in no-go zones that require humanitarian movements to be coordinated with the Israeli authorities," he said. "However, our efforts to access these areas are routinely denied," he said, adding that "just today, Israeli authorities denied an attempt by UN agencies to retrieve fuel from Rafah."

"Overall, we and our partners attempted five coordinated movements today, but four of them were denied. The only exception was related to staff rotation and not to deliveries," he said.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the resistance group, Hamas.

More than 52,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.