Late last night, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) shared this tweet, claiming to show tanks containing 500,000 litres of fuel inside Gaza.
It was responding to a warning by the aid relief agency UNRWA that it would be forced to halt its operations if it did not get fuel urgently.
“Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the IDF said.
Former British military intelligence officer Philip Ingram has been analysing the claim, and says Hamas “almost certainly” has that fuel, and he would “probably believe” the Israelis.
“If they wanted to get rid of that fuel, they could destroy it,” he says.
Israel says it will continue to block fuel into Gaza until Hamas releases its hostages – but if there is a stockpile in Gaza, does that mean militants are keeping it from civilians?
Mr Ingram says Hamas needs the fuel to move around its vehicles and its missiles.
“More importantly, Hamas’s whole defences based on their hundreds of kilometres of tunnels they’ve got underneath Gaza… need light, and they need air to be pumped in,” he adds.
“They need the fuel to power their own generators to make sure they can survive in there. They are keeping supplies back for that very task.
“The water pumps and the desalination plants need it to get water to its civilians so, once again, it’s an example of people in Gaza being used as pawns.”
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