Gaza’s only power plant is about to shut down by the end of this week, as a Qatari grant to pay for diesel fuel has run out, a Hamas energy and natural resource authority official told the Ma’an news agency.
Gaza’s single power station, which was damaged during the summer war, is struggling with a severe lack of fuel and is only able to provide six hours of power a day.
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“The strike on the power plant, which cut off electricity and running water to Gaza’s 1.8 million residents and numerous hospitals has catastrophic humanitarian implications and is very likely to amount to a war crime, ” Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program, said.
According to Ma’an, Gaza has been forced into dependence on Israeli electricity as a result of the siege, which has crippled domestic production and repair capabilities. The Palestinian news agency neglected to mention that the reason Israeli maintenance workers refuse to go out and fix the damaged lines has to do with their being targeted by enthusiastic freedom fighters.
With the Qatari regime less interested in supporting the Gaza government, and with Egypt officially declaring Hamas a terrorist organization, it appears that the beleaguered strip is looking at many dark nights.