Israeli prime minister says fuel won’t be allowed into Gaza

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday refused to allow the supply of fuel into the Gaza Strip, shortly after the army chief said fuel could enter the blockaded territory for hospitals there.

Netanyahu “has not approved the entry of fuel into Gaza,” his office said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel would allow fuel to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt should Tel Aviv determine that hospitals have run out of fuel.

"We have not brought fuel in to this point. We check the situation in the Strip every day,” he told reporters.

''For over a week, they tell us that the fuel in the hospitals will run out, and it hasn’t. We’ll see when the day comes. Fuel will be transferred, with oversight, to the hospitals, and we will do everything to ensure that it doesn’t reach Hamas infrastructure and won’t serve [Hamas’s] war aims,” he added.

International organizations have warned that hospitals in Gaza are about to halt operations amid an Israeli blockade and lack of fuel.

This week, the Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Nearly 10,600 people have been killed in the conflict, including 9,061 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.

Besides the large number of casualties and displacement, basic supplies are running low for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the Israeli siege.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara