Red Crescent says fewer than half of emergency vehicles operational in Gaza

Fewer than half of the emergency vehicles operated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society are currently functional in Gaza due to fuel shortages, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday.

Of 53 vehicles in the fleet, 23 remain operational after Israel halted aid supplies into Gaza - including fuel - in early March, IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa told reporters in Geneva.

"It is having a devastating impact. If an ambulance doesn't have gasoline fuel then there are entire communities that are calling the emergency services and are not getting any answer," he added.

Men bring to an ambulance the body of a child victim rescued from the rubble following Israeli bombardment on the north of Gaza City on October 26, 2024. (Omar AL-Qattaa / AFP) — Men carry the body of a child, pulled from the rubble, to an ambulance following Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza City on 26 October 2024 (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)