Israel has finally succumbed to pressure from the US to allow two fuel trucks a day to enter the Gaza Strip.
A US State Department official says around 140,000 litres of fuel will be allowed in every two days.
Most of that is intended for trucks delivering aid, as well as supporting the UN in providing water and sanitation.
The rest is for mobile phone and internet services, which had been cut off due to a lack of fuel.
On Friday, the company which provides Gaza’s communications said that its services were returning after receiving some fuel from the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees.
The US official said Washington exerted considerable pressure on Israel to push this fuel agreement through.
The deal had been agreed in principle weeks ago, the official added, but was delayed by Israel for two reasons. Israeli officials told the US that fuel had not actually run out in southern Gaza, and they also wanted to wait and see if they could negotiate a hostage deal first.
Earlier, an Israeli official said the new fuel allowance would be brought in through the Rafah crossing to the civilian population in the southern Gaza Strip via the UN, provided that it does not reach Hamas.
Israel has been blocking fuel from entering Gaza, arguing that it could be stolen by Hamas and used for military purposes.
Before the latest war Israel provided the majority of Gaza’s electricity, and some was produced by the enclave’s sole power plant which is no longer functioning.
Israel’s latest siege and military operation began following Hamas’s brutal 7 October attack, when the group – which is banned as a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and other powers – killed around 1,200 people and took more than 230 people hostage
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At least 12,000 people have been killed in the territory since Israel began its retaliatory strikes.
