Israel’s war cabinet has agreed to allow 140,000 litres (36,985 gallons) of fuel into the strip every two days after a request from the US, Al Jazeera reports.

An Israeli official who declined to be identified said two trucks a day would be allowed in to meet the UN’s needs, but said the amount would give “minimal” support for water, sewage and sanitary systems in Gaza to prevent pandemics.

A US State Department official, offering more details, said Israel had committed to allowing in 120,000 litres (31,700 gallons) of fuel every 48 hours for UNRWA’s trucks and other needs like desalinisation of water, sewage pumping, bakeries and hospitals in the south of Gaza.

An additional 20,000 litres (5,280 gallons) every two days would be allowed in to power generators of telecoms company Paltel, which had warned of an imminent blackout of its cellphone network due to lack of fuel.