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Electricity returns to Gaza
22/01/2008 14:52 - (SA)
Adel Zaanoun
Gaza City - Power went back on in parts of Gaza City on Tuesday as Israel eased a punishing blockade and allowed in limited amounts of fuel to the impoverished Hamas-run territory.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on Israel to completely lift the lockdown now in its fifth day amid mounting international fears of a humanitarian crisis in the territory where most people depend on foreign aid.
Trucks carrying cooking gas, industrial diesel and fuel oil entered Gaza early on Tuesday for the first time since Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the coastal strip sealed off late on Thursday in response to persistent rocket fire.
Hours later the territory's sole power plant went back online and electricity returned to blocks in Gaza City that had been without power since it shut down on Sunday after running out of fuel.
Trucks carrying medicine and other humanitarian aid were expected to be allowed into Gaza on Wednesday.
International outcry
Israel said that Tuesday's fuel deliveries were a "one-off shipment."
"We will hold a reassessment based on the rocket and sniper fire along the border as well as the humanitarian situation in Gaza," foreign ministry spokesperson Arye Mekel told AFP.
"We want to send a clear message to Hamas but at the same time, we do not wish to get into clashes with the international community," he said.
The impact of the Israeli blockade had sparked an international outcry on Monday with the European Union accusing Israel of a "collective punishment" of Gaza's civilian population.
The blockade also raised warnings that it could sink the peace talks that Israel and the Palestinians revived in late November under US stewardship.
- AFP
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