A truck loaded with fuel is seen at the Rafah crossing after it entered from Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip City of Rafah, on June 21, 2017. Egypt on Wednesday opened its borders with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and delivered industrial fuels for operating the sole power plant that has been inoperative since middle of April, officials said. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar)
GAZA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Wednesday opened its borders with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and delivered industrial fuels for operating the sole power plant that has been inoperative since middle of April, officials said.
Gaza security chief Tawfiq Abu Na'eem told media that eight trucks carrying containers filled with industrial fuels crossed through Rafah border crossing on the borders between Gaza Strip and Egypt.
He said the delivery of fuel from Egypt to Gaza was part of a deal reached between Hamas and Egypt.
Last week, a senior Hamas security delegation ended a nine-day visit to Egypt, where Hamas leaders held talks with senior Egyptian officers and discussed the current humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave.
The fuel from Egypt to Gaza is expected to help operate the sole and main power station in Gaza," said Abu Na'eem.
In the meantime, Israel has reduced the electricity supplies to 88 megawatts instead of 120 megawatts it used to give Gaza.
Yousef Al-Kayali, Hamas chief of financial affairs in the Hamas-run administrative committee that rules the Gaza Strip told reporters that the trucks of fuels came from Egypt and arrived at the Gaza power station.
"It is only designated for the power plant and not for car fuel," he said.
This step comes a week after a delegation of Hamas Islamic movement lead by its head of Gaza political Bureau Yahya Al-Sinwar met with Egyptian officials in Cairo.
Gaza-based energy authority clarified that it has paid for the Egyptian side for this load of fuel for approximately two million U.S. dollars.
The besieged coastal enclave requires 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity while it only receives 210 MW; of which 120 MW is supplied from Israel, 30 MW from Egypt and the remainder is generated through the local power plant.
