Qatar to buy fuel for Palestinians to save Gaza from collapse

Power supplies to Gaza will be boosted, following an agreement by Qatar to purchase fuel for the enclave that should help raise living conditions for Palestinians living there.

Gaza residents have access to four hours electricity a day, with Qatar looking to increase daily supplies to eight hours, Haaretz reported on Thursday.

The fuel purchases will see a Gaza power plant increase output in the coming days, providing relief to Palestinians hit hard by energy cuts.

Hospitals, homes, schools and businesses have been hit hard by the outages with the UN warning in January that power cuts could lead to the "total collapse" of basic services in Gaza.

At the heart of the blackout was a political rivalry between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and Hamas - which runs Gaza - after the West Bank-based government cut fuel payments to Israel.

Egypt and Israel have also launched a siege on Gaza, hoping to force the Hamas authority to surrender power.

The economic situation has led to anger in the Palestinian enclave against the Egypt regime and Israel for the blockades, which has affected daily life for ordinary Gazans - from food and fuel supplies, to their access to the outside world.

Weekly demonstrations on the Gaza border this year have led to the deaths of nearly 200 peaceful Palestinian protesters from Israeli gunfire.

After a general easing of violence, demonstrations on Friday led to the deaths of seven protesters including two children.

Gazans have been forced to smuggle vital supplies from the outside world via tunnels to Egypt, which Cairo has attempted to destroy.