UN agency warns of 'halt' to Gaza aid operations

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — A UN agency warned dwindling fuel supplies could force it to stop aid operations in war-riven Gaza on Wednesday, as calls mounted for a humanitarian "pause" in fighting.

After 18 days of withering Israeli air strikes and a near-total land, sea and air blockade of the Palestinian territory, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned operations were at breaking point.

"If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip," said the UN agency, which provides aid to 600,000 displaced Gazans.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas militants on October 7.

Gunmen from the Palestinian group poured into Israel from Gaza, killing more than 1,400 people and taking 222 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to "eliminate Hamas" and ensure it can no longer threaten Israeli civilians.

But there is growing international unease about the impact of Israel's "Operation Swords of Iron".

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says 5,791 people have been killed in the war so far, many of them children.

The ministry put Tuesday's toll at more than 700 people, with the UN saying it was the highest reported in a single day since the war began.

Overnight, at least 80 people were killed, the Hamas government said on Wednesday.

AFP has not been able to independently verify these figures.

Aid agencies report hospitals are overwhelmed, generators lack fuel and shelters are heaving under the weight of an estimated 1.4 million displaced -- more than half the population.

Since the war began, a few dozen trucks with essential supplies have been allowed to cross the Egyptian border into Gaza, far fewer than needed, according to aid agencies. 

The Palestine Red Crescent said on Tuesday it had received the fourth batch of humanitarian aid, consisting of eight trucks.

The supplies have included medicines, food and water, but not fuel, which Israel fears could end up in Hamas's hands.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Gaza was now seeing "epic suffering", while imploring Israel to safeguard civilians.

"The