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Gaza in complete darkness after the only power station runs out of fuel
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Amidst the soaring tensions of war, Gaza has lost its electricity supply. The only power station in the Palestinian enclave has run out of fuel and had to shut down, leaving the entire region without mains electricity, as per Hamas media sources cited by Reuters on Wednesday.
The critical infrastructure of Gaza will have to rely on generators if they have diesel to run them. Given the ongoing war and the increasing number of collaterals, the lack of electricity has created a sense of panic among the common people. The absence of electricity would mean no running water or operational elevators, and electrical gadgets would not be of any use without power.
An hour after the Gaza Energy Authority chief Jalal Ismail had warned of an acute fuel shortage in the power station, Gaza went completely dark. Reports suggest that the only power plant in the Gaza Strip stopped functioning at around 2:00 pm.
On Monday, Israel imposed a "total siege" on the strip, which is home to two and a half million people and is one of the most crowded places in the world. Defence Minister Yoav Galant said that everything was shut down - electricity, food, water, and gas - and shortly after that, Israel cut off fuel, water, and food supplies.
The electricity grid has been cut off in Gaza, raising worries about an even bigger crisis as hospitals struggle to treat the thousands of people who have been injured in the air strikes launched by Israel. Medical supplies, like oxygen, are also running low at some hospitals, including the overcrowded Al-Shifa, said an emergency room doctor to AFP.
In response to a brutal attack by Hamas operatives on Saturday, Israel imposed a siege on the Gaza Strip in retaliation. The attack, which was reportedly carried out by 1,500 gunmen, resulted in the death of hundreds of people on both sides of the border, as well as the destruction of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system. In the aftermath of the attack, nearly 150 people have been taken hostage by Hamas.
