In a sudden reversal, government officials announced on Monday night that Israel will resume supplying Hamas-controlled Gaza with fuel on Tuesday despite ongoing rocket attacks on western Negev communities by 
The government will be debating alternate retaliatory measures, such as heavy artillery bombardment of Gaza.
Palestinian Authority terrorists. In the past week, Gaza-based attackers have fired over 80 rockets and mortars at Jewish targets.
The government will be debating alternate retaliatory measures, such as heavy artillery bombardment of Gaza, at a Tuesday cabinet meeting. The proposal put forward by Vice Prime Minister Chaim Ramon and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann includes using IDF artillery to flatten Gaza towns that have become launching pads for PA rockets. According to the Ramon-Friedmann plan, residents of the targeted areas would be given advanced notice to enable them to evacuate.
The decision to renew fuel deliveries, coming just days after the initial decision to cut off the flow of Israeli fuel, was made following a meeting between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Monday. Barak said the amount of fuel allowed into Gaza would be "minimal" and that crossings would remain closed to other traffic. Defense officials will review the decision on Tuesday, he said.
Hamas claimed that the Gaza City power station, which supplies 25 percent of the region's electricity, would cease operations and leave residents and hospitals without power if Israel did not resume the deliveries by noon. However, just yesterday Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said that Hamas was intending to voluntarily cut the power "for the benefit of the media."
Seventy percent of the Gaza region's electric power is delivered directly through Israel's national grid, with a small amount coming from Egypt. That leaves only 25 percent produced within Gaza and dependent on outside deliveries of fuel, which Israel also supplies. Israel insists there is sufficient electricity in Gaza to operate hospitals and other essential facilities, but that Hamas chooses to allocate its resources to terrorism instead of for the benefit of its community.
"Overall responsibility for the situation in the Gaza Strip, and the suffering of the residents in particular, lies with Hamas alone," Israeli officials explained. "The continued shooting of rockets and mortars makes it impossible for Israel to provide the Gaza Strip with all the necessary supplies. As a result of the terrorist policies of Hamas, Israel has been forced to temporarily close the truck crossing points into Gaza, which have also been targeted by Hamas terrorism."