Gaza’s sole power plant to cease operations over fuel shortage as Israeli bombardment continue

Besieged Gaza Strip (QNN)- Gaza’s sole power plant said it will cease operations at 12 noon due to lack of fuel sources, adding the shutdown will affect all vital facilities and households in the strip, exacerbating the humanitarian situation.

In a statement issued today, Gaza’s electricity distribution company said, “The power plant in Gaza has stopped (working) due to the fuel shortage,” leaving residents with only 4 hours of electricity a day in a sweltering summer.

According to the statement, 500 megawatts are needed to fulfil Gaza’s electricity needs.

“Only 120 megawatts are currently available in Gaza imported directly from ‘Israel’,” it said.

The company also called on all concerned parties to urgently intervene and to allow the entry of fuel shipments necessary to operate the only power plant.

Fuel for the power plant is usually trucked in from Egypt or ‘Israel’, who have both maintained a blockade of the coastal enclave since 2007.

Gaza’s 2.3 million residents experience regular power shortages.

On August 2, days before the current Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Israeli occupation unexpectedly closed both Erez and Karem Abu Salem crossings. The closure of Karem Abu Salem—the only commercial crossing in Gaza that itself hardly meets the needs of more than two million people living in the Strip—would further affect Gaza residents.

The closure of the crossing has already affected fuel supplies, particularly that intended for the operation of Gaza’s only power plant.

It should be noted that recently the electricity supply has not exceeded eight hours, followed by eight hours of interruption. An even more severe fuel crisis would negatively impact people’s lives, the work of hospitals and municipalities, access to drinking water, and the operation of sewage treatment plants.