Israel cuts fuel supplies to Gaza over 'arson balloons'

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel on Tuesday blocked fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip, citing the launch of arson balloons from the blockaded territory.

Fuel transfers were halted via Kerem Shalom, Gaza's only functioning commercial crossing, "until further notice", the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement.

Israeli media say incendiary balloons from Gaza caused 14 fires in southern Israel on Monday.

There was no Palestinian comment on the Israeli move.

Israel resumed fuel supplies to Gaza as part of truce "understandings" reached late last year between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions, causing to improve electricity supply in the strip, where two million residents currently receive around 12 hours of power a day.

Before the deal, the daily power supply was regularly as low as six hours.

Palestinian activists have been flying burning kites and balloons into Israel as part of ongoing anti-occupation protests along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.

According to Israeli officials, the "improvised aerial weapons" have caused a number of fires inside Israeli settlements, causing significant material damage but not resulting in any deaths or injuries.