Gaza - Palestinian officials on Saturday warned the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip will deteriorate because Israel is showing no signs of opening crossing points it shut down.

"There are no indications that goods required to meet the basic needs of the Gaza Strip will be allowed to enter in the next few days," said Hatem Owaida, an official at the ministry of economics.

Israel closed the commercial crossing points along Gaza Strip on November 4, following a surge of violence that left a June ceasefire in tatters.

Ten Hamas militants have been killed since. The Islamic movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, responded by resuming rocket attacks against Israeli border towns.

Israel was supposed to allow limited food and dairy supplies into Gaza as well as 18 truckloads of UN aid, "but cancelled the move at the last minute," according to Owaida.

The crisis forced the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to halt delivering food aid to 750,000 refugees in the impoverished Strip.

During the closure, reduced amounts of industrial diesel fuel were trucked in to the territory's only power plant. The station was shut down again on Thursday owing to a lack of fuel, leaving more than quarter of Gaza Strip in darkness.

Mahmoud al-Shawa, director of a petrol station owners' association, warned that sewage treatment, water supplies other service utilities are grinding to a hat because of the lack of fuel. (dpa)