An Israeli construction team on Thursday finished its work on a new pipeline for the transfer of fuel and natural gas from Israel to the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement sent to Xinhua.

The decision to build the pipeline was made in accordance with decisions made by the Israeli government, following security assessments and as a result of the coordination between Israel's Civil Administration and the Palestinian side, said the statement.

The IDF will continue to work in order to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, it added.

Israel imposed a tight blockade on Gaza after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group pledges to the Jewish state's destruction, seized control of the coastal territory in June 2007.

Under the siege, only essential humanitarian goods are allowed into the impoverished enclave, home to some 1.4 million population.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2009)