Israel halts fuel shipments to Gaza over fire balloon launches

Israel on Thursday said it will stop shipments of fuel into Gaza in response to Palestinians in the enclave launching incendiary balloons that have torched tracts of farmland on the Israeli frontier.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a halt to fuel imports into Gaza “in light of the continued launching of incendiary balloons from the Strip” towards Israel, the defense ministry said in a statement.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the measure a “grave act of aggression” that “aims to worsen the crisis of our people in the blockaded Strip”. The Mediterranean coastal enclave relies on Israel for most of its fuel and gas.