On Friday, Israel's war cabinet unanimously agreed to allow two fuel tankers a day "to run the wastewater treatment facilities... which are facing collapse due to the lack of electricity,” national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said, adding that it was to prevent the spread of epidemics that could affect Israeli soldiers too, according to AP.

However, the blockade on fuel in the Gaza Strip has also put a tremendous burden on the strip’s medical infrastructure, leading to the loss of numerous lives, including children.

Without fuel, patients, particularly those in intensive care, are at risk of losing their lives, the spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health told Al-Qahera News.

The ministry spokesman also pointed out that 28 hospitals in the strip are completely out of service as a result of Israeli operations targeting the health system.

He added that 160 health institutions have been affected by Israeli strikes and 63 primary care centres have been put out of service.

Over 60 ambulances have been destroyed since 7 October, the spokesman said.

The lack of fuel has also disrupted mobile phone and internet services throughout Gaza due to insufficient fuel to power backup generators, Palestinian telecom companies Paltel and Jawwal announced on Thursday.

On 15 November, a truck carrying 24,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt, the first such delivery since the Israeli war on Gaza began on 7 October. 

As many as 10 fuel trucks carrying 150,000 litres of diesel entered the Gaza Strip through last week, Sky News Arabia reported on 17 November.

In an attempt to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, Egypt has provided more than 14,500 tons of humanitarian aid, Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj revealed on Tuesday.

This is in addition to helping to deliver 11,500 tons of aid from other countries through the Rafah crossing, El-Qabbaj added.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll in Gaza has climbed over 13,300 including 5,600 children and 3,550 women while the number of wounded Palestinians has climbed to over 32,000.

On Monday, Egypt received 28 premature Palestinian babies evacuated from the besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing in North Sinai, Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar announced.