First fuel tanker enters Gaza from Egypt since start of war

First fuel tanker enters Gaza from Egypt since start of war

Image source, EPAImage caption,

Unrwa said the fuel delivery represented only 9% of what the agency needed daily to sustain life-saving activities

A tanker has delivered fuel to Gaza for the first time since the war between Hamas and Israel began five weeks ago.

A senior UN official said it had received 23,000 litres (5,060 gallons) of fuel via Egypt's Rafah crossing.

But he warned that Israeli authorities had restricted its use to transporting aid into Gaza, and that none could be used to power hospitals or water pumps.

Israel has been blocking all deliveries of fuel, saying it could be stolen by Hamas and used for military purposes.

An Israeli defence ministry body said it had agreed to allow UN aid lorries to be refuelled following a request from the US government.

The decision came hours after Israeli troops raided Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, which has been the focus of days of fighting and seen nearby air strikes.

Israel launched a major military campaign to destroy Hamas - which it classes as a terrorist group - and began a siege of Gaza in retaliation for a cross-border attack by hundreds of gunmen on 7 October, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and about 240