Israel restarts work at gas field off Gaza coast

Israel ordered the gas field workers to return to their posts off the Gaza coast a day after the sites were shut down due to safety concerns as a result of Israel’s attack on the besieged Strip, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz issued orders for workers at the Tamar gas field, located 20 kilometers off Gaza’s coast, to return to work.

Israel Electric Corporation is the Tamar field’s biggest customer, using some 54 per cent of its output.

During the weekend, Israel pounded Gaza from the air, ground and sea, killing 27 Palestinians, including two toddlers, one minor and four women, two of whom were pregnant. A further 156 were injured and some 830 residential units were damaged or destroyed during the assault.

Israel feared the Palestinian resistance would respond to the attack by firing at the oil field.

READ: Israel strikes 320 sites in blockaded Gaza Strip