Abir al-Hurqali got dressed and put on makeup as she prepared to leave her house in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City to attend her cousin's wedding. The ceremony was being held in a wedding hall in another part of the city. Hurqali was shocked when she tried to operate her electric wheelchair only to discover that the battery had died and needed recharging, which would take at least an hour.
When she tried to recharge the battery, Hurqali realized that the electricity was off. This left her frustrated, since she was the last person in her family to leave the house. She had to call one of her neighbors to give her a ride to the main street, where she could take a cab to the wedding. The side street leading to her home was not designed to accommodate cars, so cabs could not drive to her door.