Israel’s war cabinet has allowed the delivery of two tankers of diesel fuel daily to the embattled Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said Friday, as hospitals and aid schemes shut down over energy shortages.

Israel has come under increasing international pressure as the United Nations warned this week its aid work in the war-torn Palestinian territory was grinding to a halt as fuel reserves ran dry.

In response to a US request, the Israeli war cabinet unanimously approved “the entry of two diesel fuel tankers per day for the needs of the UN to support water and sewer infrastructure... provided that it does not reach Hamas,” Israeli officials said in a statement.

“This action allows Israel the continued international manoeuvring space necessary to eliminate Hamas,” the statement added.

Prior to October 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack across southern Israel, there were 50 fuel tankers crossing into the Gaza Strip every day, an official for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said this week.