Power crisis threatens already fragile situation in Gaza
As the power outage crisis in the Gaza Strip for more than 20 hours per day paralyzes all health care and economic sectors, Gazans await for Israel to allow fuel to enter the enclave to operate their only power plant.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Khamis Murad, 61, needs regular dialysis treatment sessions at Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City of four continuous hours. But during his last session, the machine suddenly stopped after less than two hours, due to a power cut at the hospital.
In an Aug. 18 press statement, the spokesman for the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Thabet, announced that electricity supply to homes and establishments in Gaza dropped to three to four hours a day, with more than 20 hours of blackouts. The previous distribution schedule was rationed around eight hours of supply versus eight hours of power outage.
Thabet explained that the new measure came after GEDCO was officially informed on the same day by the Gaza Power Generating Company that the generation process at Gaza’s sole power plan had been completely stopped, due to the exhaustion of fuel. On Aug. 11, Israel had suspended fuel shipments to the besieged enclave over the repeated launching of incendiary balloons from Gaza toward southern Israel.
Also, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing Aug. 11.
