Hamas warned of a fresh "explosion" of violence in Gaza on Monday after Israel agreed to the request of the Palestinian president to cut back electricity supply to the isolated enclave.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), asked Israel to cut the electricity supply to put pressure on his political rivals in Hamas, who have ruled Gaza for the last ten years.

The Israeli cabinet decided this week to accept Mr Abbas’s decision and begin scaling back power, despite the humanitarian impact on Gazans and concerns the cuts might spark another war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Gaza gets only around four hours of electricity every day and the initial cut is expected to reduce that time by around 45 minutes, Israeli media reported. It is not clear when the cuts will begin.