REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEW YORK -- The United Nations said here Wednesday that the Gaza fuel crisis has affected public hospitals, which consume 8,000 liters of diesel a day, with only 20 percent left in reserve.

While addressing a daily news briefing here, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said elective surgical operations have to be canceled and ambulance travel has to be reduced by 50 percent as a result, citing information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"The World Health Organization is procuring drugs and disposables for chronic diseases, worth 1.5 million U.S. dollars, but it will take several weeks to start the delivery of these items," Dujarric said. "Hospitals are suffering from the shortages and have appealed for support from international organizations."

The last shipment of Qatar-donated diesel -- used to fuel the Gaza Strip's sole power plant -- is expected to run out within four or five days, reports said Sunday.

The latest fuel crisis in Gaza came after only around two months of steady electricity in the besieged coastal enclave, which suffers from a severe lack of fuel due to a seven-year-long economic blockade enforced jointly by Israel and Egypt.

The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by Israel since 2006. The blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.

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