Fresh tension as Israel reimposes fuel blockade
A previous ban on fuel deliveries last month had resulted in warnings from UN officials that emergency fuel supplies were running low and the shortage was beginning to affect hospitals and water sanitation.
After two deadly military flare-ups in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and UN officials last month, the number of firebombs being launched over the border to burn Israeli farmland had diminished.
But Wednesday saw seven fires started by the incendiaries, and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman later announced Israel's Kerem Shalom goods crossing with Gaza would be closed for fuel deliveries "until further notice."
"The decision was made in light of the continued terror with Molotov cocktails and the friction on the fence," Lieberman's office said, referring to months of clashes along the Gaza border between the army and Palestinian protesters.
ADVERTISEMENT
The coastal enclave, run by Islamist movement Hamas, suffers from a severe lack of electricity and relies on fuel-powered generators during outages that last hours at a time.
Israel closed the crossing to most deliveries on July 9 in response to the firebombs and border tension before tightening the blockade to cover fuel on July 17.
It lifted the fuel ban a week later. Deliveries of food and medicines have continued throughout.
Two military flare-ups
Months of tension on the Gaza border resulted in two separate military flare-ups in July.
ADVERTISEMENT
The first, on July 14, saw dozens of Israeli air strikes that killed two Palestinians, while some 200 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the enclave at Israel in response.
It was the most serious exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war.
On July 20, Israel unleashed a wave of strikes across the territory after a soldier was shot dead on the border. Three Hamas militants were killed in the strikes.
UN officials and Egypt brokered a ceasefire after the July 20 violence that resulted in a drop in tensions.
However, protests and clashes have continued along the border and the kite-borne firebombs have not been stopped completely as Israel demands.
ADVERTISEMENT
The persistent use of the firebombs has put political pressure on Israel's leaders to act strongly, though military commanders have been reluctant to start a war over the devices.
Israel says the firebombs have sparked hundreds of fires since April and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Palestinians see the kites and balloons as legitimate resistance against Israel's decade-long blockade of the territory.
Israel controls all access to and from the Gaza Strip apart from a single crossing with Egypt.
That crossing, known as Rafah, had been kept largely closed in recent years, but Cairo opened it in mid-May and it has remained open most of the time since then.
ADVERTISEMENT
Israel has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008 and says the blockade is necessary to keep them from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used for military purposes.
UN officials have called repeatedly for the blockade to be lifted, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the territory, where some 80 percent of the two million population depend on aid.
Mass protests for the return of Palestinian refugees to their former homes inside Israel erupted along the border on March 30.
Israeli fire has since killed at least 157 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier has also died.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Recommended articles
Tinubu assures of more policies for nation’s industrialisation
Pelumi Nubi’s London-to-Lagos journey and West Africa’s border realities
Kano govt clears the air on alleged stray bullet incident involving journalist
Kebbi Gov won't hesitate to sign death warrant of convicted bandits' informants
Blackout hits Tanzania as Cyclone Hidaya makes landfall, Kenya braces itself
Popular footballer arrested over robbery that left 1 dead as police dismantle gang
When fire started on a boat, the captain was first to escape — 34 passengers died
Some Nigerians in public, private organisations using fake certificates - FG
UniAbuja says academic, administrative activities ongoing despite ASUU strike
ADVERTISEMENT
