Egypt began on Wednesday to deliver a million litres of fuel to Gaza, a Palestinian official said, in an attempt to ease the Palestinian enclave's desperate electricity crisis.

The fuel, trucked in through the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza, will be routed to the territory's only power station -- closed for several months due to fuel shortages.

The deliveries come two days after Israel began reducing electricity supplies to Gaza, despite warnings the move could increase suffering and tensions.