GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel said Monday that it will ease a blockade of Gaza imposed in retaliation for militant rocket attacks, allowing some food and fuel in for one day.
The announcement followed a U.N. warning that international food aid to the impoverished territory may have to be suspended by the weekend.
The closure, imposed after a spike in rocket attacks last week, cut off fuel supplies. Sunday, Gaza’s Hamas rulers shut the strip’s power plant, leaving one-third of the 1.5 million people without electricity.
Gas stations and many bakeries closed, and health officials warned of an impending crisis in hospitals running low on generator fuel.
The cutoff of fuel prompted condemnation from aid and human-rights groups.
Before agreeing to the one-time shipment of diesel fuel and medicine, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert strongly defended the blockade. He said he will not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop but warned that Gaza’s residents won’t be able to live a “pleasant and comfortable life” as long as southern Israel is under rocket attack.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he was prepared to hit Gaza in order to restore calm in Israeli towns battered by rocket fire from Gaza.
“I care more about our quiet than their quiet,” Barak said.
