Only a small quantity of fuel for the Gaza electricity plant has trickled in.

"The closure aggravates the already precarious situation in the Gaza Strip, seriously affecting most of its population," said Katharina Ritz, the ICRC's head of mission for the occupied Palestinian territories.

The closure came after dozens of home-made rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, following an incursion into the Strip carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces last week.

"Since Israel imposed an embargo on the Gaza Strip in 2007, the humanitarian situation has continued to worsen. A great number of families have already been forced to cut their spending on food and clothing down to survival levels. Any additional restrictive measures, in particular those affecting the flow of essential supplies into the Gaza Strip, can only make the life of the Gazan population even harder," said Ms Ritz. "No matter what political or security considerations may be behind such measures, the civilian population must be spared the burden of collectively paying the price," she added.