Jerusalem – Israel cut by half the amount of fuel it ships to the Gaza Strip, in response to recent rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The cut was ordered on Monday morning by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as the country’s Defense Minister.
On Sunday night three rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli territory, the fourth such attack in two weeks. Two of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system and a third landed on the side of a highway, sparking a small fire. In the hours following the attack, the Israel military launched airstrikes on a Hamas military compound in northern Gaza, including on what it said in a statement was the office of a Hamas commander.
The cut in the fuel delivery, meant for the Gaza Strip’s only power plant, means that there will be fewer hours of electricity available for homes in the coastal strip, which currently only receive about 12 hours of electricity a day.
A spokesman for Hamas called the fuel cut “collective punishment that violates all international laws,” the Kan public broadcaster reported.
(JTA)