Palestinians wait to fill containers with fuel after Israel stopped the transfer of fuel and cooking gas into Gaza, at a petrol station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 17, 2018. (REUTERS)
GAZA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Petroleum and Gas Station Owners Association (PGSOA) in the Palestinian Gaza Strip warned on Thursday against the Israeli ban on the entry of gas and fuel into the blockaded territory.
"The Gaza Strip suffers shortage of cooking oil and the Israeli decision will worsen the crisis... the move threatens draining the gas storage either for house or public use," Samir Hamada, an official with PGSOA, told Xinhua.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered fuel and gas to be banned from entering the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom border crossing from Thursday until further notice.
Lieberman said the decision aimed to stop the Palestinian protesters from releasing arson balloons into the Israeli-occupied territories.
Hamada said Gaza needs 350 ton of cooking oil per day, noting the accessible volume of oil via Kerem Shalom crossing was only for daily use.
"The Israeli decision will leave Gaza without gas reserves," the official said, adding that the coastal enclave consumes 700,000 liters of diesel and 250,000 liters of gasoline per day.
He stressed that local filling stations will run out of fuel within a few days.
On July 9, Israel closed the Gaza Strip's main cargo crossing for export and import as part of the measures against Hamas, the Islamic movement that runs the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli decision came in response to the arson kites and helium balloons flying from Gaza into Israel, which caused large fires and losses in the Israeli territory.
The sanctions came at a time of escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, created by a blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas violently took over the territory in 2007.