What we are witnessing in Gaza is not a series of isolated shortages, it is a policy of attrition by design.
For more than two years, we have observed Israel’s policies restricting the entry of supplies.
These policies do not merely delay aid; they dismantle the very systems people rely on to survive.
Reposted from Doctors Without Borders, August 12, 2026
Israeli authorities continue to restrict the entry of engine oil and spare parts into Gaza, Palestine, increasing the risk of death and severe illness for thousands of Palestinians, warns Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
These critical supplies are essential to keep hospital generators, ambulances, water pumps, and water trucks running. Their restriction is part of Israel’s systematic destruction of the conditions necessary for life in Gaza.
MSF calls on Israeli authorities to immediately lift the blockade on Gaza and allow unhindered entry of all medical, humanitarian, and commercial supplies needed to respond to Palestinians’ immense needs.
Oil restrictions endanger lifesaving care
With most electricity cut by Israeli authorities and much of the electrical infrastructure destroyed, hospitals and other essential services in Gaza now rely almost entirely on generators. Without engine oil and replacement parts, these generators are breaking down.
When they stop working, there are no alternative power sources like solar power systems or replacement equipment. Israeli authorities have also blocked new generators and vehicles from entering Gaza.
In some facilities, MSF barely has enough engine oil to last a month, and some of our equipment has already been affected by shortages. Teams must buy engine oil at the local market at exorbitant prices. The supply is so limited that prices have increased twentyfold over the last six months. By the end of July, engine oil cost more than $4,900 per gallon, and neither its quality nor its availability can be guaranteed.
On August 5, one of the generators at the MSF field hospital in Deir Al Balah broke down. Forced to rely on a smaller backup generator, teams had to drastically ration electricity during this time. The operating theater could only be used for people in the most critical condition, nurses could not sterilize essential equipment, X-ray services stopped, and people with painful burns were left to suffer in extreme heat without air conditioning.
“When generators break down, hospitals are at risk,” says Ola Bardawil, deputy project coordinator. “Newborn babies in incubators, people who rely on oxygen generators, or those in need of lifesaving surgery will suffer.”
More than 90 percent of Palestinian families are experiencing water insecurity
The consequences extend far beyond hospitals. Currently, people’s access to drinking water relies on trucks bringing water to the areas where they are sheltering. A survey carried out in July by organizations monitoring water and sanitation found that 90 percent of households experienced moderate to high water insecurity.
Without engine oil, all transport services could stop, including much-needed water trucks during the peak of summer heat, ambulances, buses transporting medical staff to work, and trucks delivering humanitarian supplies. Bakeries and flour mills also rely on generators, meaning food production could also be affected.
One of the generators in MSF’s water desalination hub is already damaged due to the lack of engine oil and spare parts needed for repairs. In June, MSF had to reduce the hub’s use from 12 to seven hours per day, decreasing daily drinking water production by more than 66,000 gallons (down from more than 158,500 gallons to 92,470). This means more than 40,000 fewer people can access clean drinking water each day.
The withholding of engine oil and spare parts is one piece of a larger pattern of structural violence imposed by Israeli authorities to intentionally restrict access to vital services and supplies as part of the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. These restrictions have become increasingly far-reaching, also preventing the entry of routine items ranging from ointments for skin diseases to rubber seals needed for medical sterilization equipment. The shortages now impact virtually every aspect of life in Gaza, leaving hospitals and humanitarian organizations without basic supplies.
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not a series of isolated shortages; it is a policy of attrition by design,” says Filipe Ribeiro, MSF head of mission in Palestine. “For more than two years, we have observed Israel’s policies restricting the entry of supplies. These policies do not merely delay aid; they dismantle the very systems people rely on to survive.”
“Today it is engine oil and spare parts; tomorrow it will be something else,” says Ribeiro. “The items change, but the logic remains the same: reducing people to conditions in which life becomes untenable, and dignity is systematically stripped away through the denial of the most ordinary, most essential goods. This is not bureaucracy. It is a deliberate effort to make existence itself impossible.”
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