GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Gaza civil defense has issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and international humanitarian organizations to provide immediate assistance in repairing civil defense vehicles that have been out of service for the past 12 days, severely limiting emergency response operations.
Lt. Col. Nizar Al-Bardini, director of the Al-Rimal civil defense center, said that three emergency vehicles, a fire truck, a rescue vehicle, and an ambulance, remain inoperable because they cannot be repaired due to soaring maintenance costs and severe shortages of spare parts and lubricants in local markets.
Al-Bardini warned that the continued breakdown of these vehicles has deprived thousands of residents and displaced people in western Gaza City of essential emergency services, delaying rescue, firefighting, and ambulance responses at a time when humanitarian needs continue to grow.
He called on the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations to fulfill their humanitarian responsibilities by urgently providing the support needed to return the vehicles to service, enabling civil defense crews to continue saving lives and protecting civilians under the current conditions in the Gaza Strip.
He added that with the Al-Rimal civil defense center unable to operate its vehicles, Gaza Governorate has been forced to rely entirely on the Al-Tuffah civil defense center to respond to emergency calls and carry out firefighting, rescue, and ambulance operations, placing increasing strain on its resources and slowing emergency response times.
