Israel's military tells UN in Gaza: ask Hamas for fuel

World News@lemmy.world – 298 points – 1 years ago

Israel's military tells UN in Gaza: ask Hamas for fuel

Israel's military suggested on Tuesday that the United Nations ask Hamas for fuel supplies after the U.N. agency providing aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip warned it would have to halt operations on Wednesday night if no fuel was delivered.

The agency, known as UNRWA, posted its warning on social media on Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces reposted it and said that Hamas militants have more than 500,000 litres of fuel in tanks inside besieged Gaza.

"Ask Hamas if you can have some," the IDF wrote.

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The current blockade started in 2007 2 years after Israel pulled out of Gaza and Hamas took control. The after they pulled out in 2006 there were over 900 rocket attacks an increase from the 176 the year before.

The blockade started in response to rocket attacks.

-- edit added wiki link

The current blockade started in 2007 2 years after Israel pulled out of Gaza and Hamas took control.

No? It was turned into its current form in 2007. Gaza has been partially blockaded by Israel (harsh reduction, but not completely termination, of exports) since 2005, and got even worse in 2006.

Following the disengagement, human rights groups alleged that Israel frequently blockaded Gaza in order to apply pressure on the population "in response to political developments or attacks by armed groups in Gaza on Israeli civilians or soldiers".[26] The special envoy of the Quartet James Wolfensohn noted that "Gaza had been effectively sealed off from the outside world since the Israeli disengagement [August–September 2005], and the humanitarian and economic consequences for the Palestinian population were profound. There were already food shortages. Palestinian workers and traders to Israel were unable to cross the border".

They also withheld the PNA's tax income for more than a year, and as for the effects I'll let Wikipedia speak on my behalf.

By releasing or withholding these revenues, Israel was able, in the words of the International Crisis Group, to "virtually turn the Palestinian economy on and off".