Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has ordered the renewal of fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip, almost one week after they were cut off following a Palestinian-militant shooting attack on a border fuel terminal which killed two Israelis. ( dpa )
Israel Radio reported that diesel fuel for the Gaza power station, and cooking gas are included in the minister's decision, but petrol for motor vehicles will not be delivered.
Israel in recent months has cut back on the fuel it delivers to the strip, to protest continued Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel. The fuel supply was suspended last week, after militant groups attacked the Nahal Oz terminal - the main entry point for fuel into the salient - last Wednesday and killed two Israeli civilians.
The head of the Palestinian Petrol Corporation in Gaza, Mujahid Salama, warned Monday that Gaza's main power plant would be closed by Tuesday due to the shortage of fuel.
"The remaining amounts of industrial fuel to keep the power plant operating will be only sufficient until Tuesday," he said in a statement, adding that "if more fuel is not allowed, Gaza Strip will be sinking in full blackout."
The Gaza power station supplies about 30 per cent of the enclave's electricity. Sixty per cent comes via lines from the Israeli power plant in Ashkelon, about 15 kilometres north of the salient, and 10 per cent is supplied by Egypt.