Gaza power plant warns its fuel can last 2 days
Director of Strip's only power plant says he'll have to shut it down in two to three days unless Israel resumes fuel shipments. Supplies halted after Palestinian gunmen attacked fuel depot on Gaza-Israel border last week, killing two Israeli workers. Defense officials slam Hamas' 'false propaganda'
Israel halted supplies after Palestinian gunmen attacked a fuel depot on the Gaza-Israel border last week and killed two Israeli workers - Oleg Lipson, 37, and Lev Charniak, 53, both of Beersheba.
The power plant's fuel reserves have been low in recent months, after Israel restricted fuel supplies in hopes of forcing militants to halt rocket attacks from Gaza.
Power plant director Rafiq Maliha said Saturday he only has two to three days worth of fuel left to run the plant. The plant shut down once before, after Israeli halted fuel shipments for several days following a barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza.
Military officials stressed in response that over the past week, even before Wednesday's terror attack, the Palestinians did not even use the diesel and fuel delivered from Israel.
In fact, a source said, the terminal was only closed on Thursday, and still has reservoirs which did not enter the Strip. The army plans to resume the activity in the Nahal Oz depot in the coming days, perhaps already on Sunday.
"This is another manipulation by Hamas, which is trying to achieve international legitimacy and divert the Palestinian population's attention from the internal problems in the Strip towards Israel, even though this is all false," a source said.
The Gaza power plant supplies about 30% of the Gazans' electricity consumption. The rest of the supply comes from Israel (60%) and Egypt (10%), and is not harmed despite the attempt to create an imaginary crisis, Israeli officials stressed.
8 Palestinians killes in IDF op Friday
The Palestinian News Agency Maan reported Friday that eight people were killed and 28 others were wounded in a clash between IDF forces and Palestinian gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip.
According to medical sources in the Strip, a 12-year-old boy and three youths, ages 17 to 19, were among the dead.
The IDF said it was looking into the allegations, adding that in several cases during the day, Palestinian gunmen were firing at soldiers while using civilian crowds, including children, as shields. The army further reported an anti-tank missile was fired on the troops. No casualties were reported among IDF soldiers.
Earlier Friday morning, Givati and Armor Corps forces reportedly entered the al-Bureij refugee camp area with six reinforced vehicles and two bulldozers.
The forces are operating along the security fence in an effort to uncover weapons and terror infrastructure, but Israel has refrained from launching a broad operation inside the coastal enclave.
During the early hours of Friday morning Israeli air strikes in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis area killed at least two Hamas terrorists in Gaza and wounded seven others.
The IDF confirmed both the air strikes and the fact that the pilots identified a hit.
Friday afternoon saw a Palestinian sniper in Gaza open fire at Israeli farmers working in the Kibbutz Nir Oz fields. No injuries were reported but a tractor was damaged.
