Israel allows fuel in to Gaza

Palestinians stop with their lorries near the Israeli crossing Kerem Shalom, 16 January 2018 [Abed Rahim Khatib/Apaimages]

Israeli authorities reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow the entry of fuel into the besieged Gaza Strip today.

According to Hebrew-language news outlets, Israeli authorities decided to reopen Gaza’s main commercial crossing, known as Karm Abu Salem, in order to allow the entry of fuel.

There are three crossings into the Gaza Strip; two are controlled by Israel and one by Egypt. The Gaza-Israel crossings are the Erez [Beit Hanoun] crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, that is specifically for people, and Kerem Shalom in the southern Gaza Strip for the entry of goods and fuel. The Gaza-Egypt crossing is the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, but is often closed and lacks infrastructure for it to be a main commercial crossing.

In January, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) warned of the deteriorating situation of the Palestinian patients in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing fuel shortage.

PCHR called upon the Palestinian Authority (PA) and international organisations to urgently intervene to ensure the rapid flow of fuel needed to operate generators in health facilities in the besieged Gaza Strip.

READ: Thousands of lives at risk as Gaza hospitals strained by fuel crisis

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