Such a move could compel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from the Israeli assault on Gaza City to relocate again, along with residents of the southern city of Khan Younis, worsening a dire humanitarian crisis.
Khan Younis has a population of more than 400,000.
Israel vowed to annihilate the Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 rampage into Israel in which its fighters killed 1,200 people and dragged 240 hostages into the enclave.
In related news, US President Joe Biden pressed on Friday for the immediate release of hostages seized by Hamas in Israel during talks with the leader of Qatar, which has relations with the Palestinian group that governs Gaza.
Biden, in San Francisco for an Asia-Pacific summit, in a telephone call with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani “discussed the urgent need for all hostages held by Hamas to be released without further delay,” a White House statement said on Friday.
Biden and the emir “discussed ongoing efforts to increase the flow of urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza and Israel’s decision to resume fuel deliveries for life-saving aid,” the White House said.
Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Friday night called on Hamas to release Israeli hostages. Prince Salman said hostages held by Hamas must be released immediately in exchange for prisoners held in Israel. Prince Salman called for a two-state solution, calling it the only way that the decades-long conflict can end.
“The United States is indispensable in leading this process,” he said in reference to the two-state solution.
After more than a month into its siege on Gaza, Israel has agreed to allow 140,000 liters, or about 37,000 gallons, of fuel into the territory every two days for humanitarian needs, U.S. and Israeli officials said Friday.
Most of the fuel will be allocated to UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which has said it needs fuel for trucks to distribute aid and to power water pumps, desalination plants, hospitals and bakeries.
The fuel will also help power Gaza's sewage and wastewater treatment systems, which ceased operations this week due to a lack of fuel, causing aid groups to raise the alarm about the outbreak of diseases.