The electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing for years has exacerbated in the past week with power outages reaching up to 16 hours a day.
The worsening power crisis comes as a result of Israel’s decision Aug. 2 to close the border crossings with the Gaza Strip, blocking travelers in and out of the enclave and preventing aid from coming in, under the pretext of a potential retaliatory military operation on the part of Islamic Jihad in response to the arrest of Bassam al-Saadi, one of the movement’s prominent leaders in the West Bank.