By Abdelraouf Arna'out
JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army said on Friday that it allowed the entry of eight trucks of gasoline into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing as part of the humanitarian pause agreement that has temporarily halted Israel's intensified onslaught against Gaza.
"4 tankers of fuel and 4 tankers of cooking gas were transferred from Egypt to UN humanitarian aid organizations in the southern Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing," the army's liaison office with Palestinians, known as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
"Fuel and cooking gas are designated for operating essential humanitarian infrastructure in Gaza," it added.
The entry of the fuel trucks was approved by the Israeli government as part of the humanitarian pause and the prisoners swap deal, which is expected to take place later in the day, the liaison office said.
Since Oct. 7, the Israeli army imposed a suffocating siege on Gaza during which fuel trucks were barred from entering the enclave.
Since Israel's relentless attacks began on Oct. 7 and its siege reduced humanitarian supplies to a trickle, UN agencies in Gaza, particularly the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), have received only very small quantities of fuel, critical for their continued operation.
The four-day humanitarian pause between the Israeli army and Palestinian group Hamas came into effect on Friday morning in all areas of the Gaza Strip, temporarily stopping attacks in exchange for prisoners and aid.
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing more than 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.
* Writing by Ahmed Asmar