Restarting the only power plant in the Strip

Israel opens the crossings with Gaza after the truce holds

Fuel trucks entered the Gaza Strip yesterday through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

AFP

Yesterday, fuel trucks entered the Gaza Strip, with the steadfastness of the armistice that was brokered by Egypt between Israel and the "Jihad Movement" the night before last, after a new round of violence that resulted in the killing of dozens of Palestinians.

An AFP journalist at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza saw trucks loaded with fuel entering Gaza, ending a severe shortage that led to the closure of the only power station in the Strip on Saturday.

Yesterday, spokesman for the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company, Muhammad Thabet, announced the start of operating the power plant after Israel allowed the entry of fuel into the Gaza Strip, while the truce it reached with the Islamic Jihad was holding.

Thabet said, "The power plant has gradually started to produce electricity in Gaza, two days after it stopped."

The arrival of vital supplies followed the implementation of a ceasefire on Sunday, starting at 20:30 GMT, ending the worst fighting in Gaza since the 11-day war last year that wreaked havoc in the Strip.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 44 Palestinians were killed, including 15 children, and more than 360 wounded in the Strip, after a round of violence that lasted three days before the truce came into effect.

Despite a series of missile strikes and attacks in the run-up to the armistice's entry into force, no new breach was reported by any party.

The coordinator of the Israeli government's operations in the Palestinian territories, Major General Ghassan Alyan, announced that "the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip will be opened in a humanitarian manner, starting at nine in the morning" yesterday morning.

He said in a brief statement that "the crossings will be opened and a return to full routine."

For its part, the army said in a tweet, "Restrictions will continue to be lifted gradually, in conjunction with the assessment of the situation."

And resumed studies in the universities of Gaza yesterday.

Prior to the entry into force of the Egyptian-brokered truce, the Israeli army announced that it had launched strikes on "Jihad Movement" sites in Gaza "in response to rockets fired" at southern Israel, where the sirens sounded.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid confirmed that the truce had entered into force, and said that Israel "thanks Egypt for the efforts it has made," stressing that "in the event of a breach of the ceasefire, the State of Israel reserves its right to respond forcefully."

Likewise, the "Jihad Movement" confirmed the entry into force of the truce, but stressed its right to "respond to any aggression."

The day before yesterday, US President Joe Biden welcomed this truce, urging all parties to implement it fully.

Biden said in a statement that Washington had worked with officials in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and various countries in the region "to encourage a speedy resolution of the conflict" over the past three days.

Biden thanked his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his country's role in negotiating a ceasefire.

Biden considered that "reports of civilian casualties in Gaza are a tragedy," calling for investigations to be carried out on them.

In a statement, the United Nations Middle East peace envoy, Tor Wencesland, said, "The situation remains extremely fragile, and I urge all parties to respect the ceasefire."

The armistice agreement notes “Egypt’s commitment to work for the release of the two prisoners (Bassem) Al-Saadi and (Khalil) Awawda,” according to what the Jihad Movement confirmed.

A high-ranking Israeli diplomatic official said, in a press briefing yesterday, that most of the civilians who were killed in Gaza were killed by "Jihad Movement" rockets, because they did not hit their target or suffered a malfunction when launching.

The Israeli army had said earlier that it had "compelling" evidence that a rocket fired by the "Jihad Movement" killed a number of children in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Saturday.

 Biden welcomed the truce, urging all parties to implement it fully.

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