Israel eases Gaza fuel blockade

Israel eases Gaza fuel blockade

Israel has partially renewed fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip, ending a week-long suspension of supplies that led to blackouts in the homes of Palestinian families.

 
Palestinian workers said the first delivery was received at the Nahal Oz fuel depot on Tuesday and was sent on to Gaza's only power plant.
 
The plant shut down on Monday due to what Palestinian officials said was a lack of fuel, leaving about half of Gaza's 1.5 million residents without power.
 
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Gaza City, said the result of the restriction had been an almost complete blackout across the territory.
 
Israel had blocked shipments of EU-funded fuel for a week in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters, who said they were responding to an Israeli raid that killed six people on November 4.
 
Limited relief
 
Only a limited supply of fuel was sent into Gaza on Tuesday.
 
"The fuel supply will be resumed completely when rocket fire from the Gaza Strip has ceased," Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense ministry, has said.
 
Israeli's foreign ministry accused Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, of exploiting the situation for political gain.
 
"The cynical Hamas exploitation of the civilian population in Gaza is contemptible," a ministry statement said.
 
Kanan Obeid, a Gazan energy official, criticized the move as an example of "Israel's policy of collective punishment".
 
The Gaza City plant provides about a quarter of Gaza's electricity, while most of the rest comes over lines from Israel. Egypt also provides a small amount.
 
PHOTO CAPTION
 
A fuel truck heading for the Gaza Strip stops at the Nahal Oz border terminal.
 
 Al-Jazeera

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