Gazans rushed to stock up on petrol and food yesterday as Israel cut fuel supplies in its first concrete response to Hamas's seizure of power in Gaza.The Israeli embargo applied a telling squeeze to petrol supplies in Gaza. Vehicles queued to stock up on fuel and some stations ran out within hours. Dor Alon, the private Israeli fuel company that supplies Gaza, said it would only send shipments to Gaza's power stations. Many areas of Gaza have been without electricity since power cables were damaged in last week's fighting. Gazans also stockpiled food, emptying supermarket shelves of food and contributing to price rises.
Workers at Gaza's only fuel warehouse told the Associated Press that supplies had run out. Early yesterday, the owners of 15 petrol companies came to the warehouse and purchased the last 30 tonnes of fuel. Asef Hamdi, a worker at a Gaza petrol station, feared what the end of the fuel shipments would mean for the territory. "The results will be Gaza in full darkness, with no cars," he said. "In simple words ... welcome to the Taliban lifestyle".
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