GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The first anniversary of the eight-day war waged by Israel in November 2012 was marked in the Gaza Strip by a severe humanitarian crisis spurred by the area’s protracted electricity shortage. This situation was apparent in the daily lives of local citizens and led to a stoppage in the operation of wastewater pumping stations, which flooded the streets of some neighborhoods, while general hospitals curtailed their services and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt remained shut.
Despite the deteriorating economic situation in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis, Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, commemorated the first anniversary of the second war with Israel with a major show of force and the holding of military parades through many streets of the besieged Strip.
