Israel began its first shipment into Gaza on Tuesday since it imposed a blockade on the impoverished territory. Israel pumped cooking oil and fuel for Gaza's power plant through the Nahal Oz crossing. Later in the day it is expected to allow a single shipment of fuel, food and medicine into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to a report of the Associated Press. On Monday, after Gaza's Hamas government and aid agencies warned of a burgeoning humanitarian crisis following the shutdown of Gaza's only electricity plant, Israel agreed to the shipment. Israel closed all its crossings on Thursday. The power outage mainly affected Gaza City, which receives its electricity from the closed plant. Other areas of Gaza are supplied directly by Israel and Egypt, neither of which cut off service.
