Gaza’s Catastrophe: Sole Power Plant Shut over Lack of Fuel

Local Editor

2 million residents receive only around four hours of mains electricity a day. This was the situation in besieged Gaza strip before the sole electricity plant stopped working Thursday because of a lack of fuel.

This comes as concerns grew over worsening humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave.

The closure of the plant, which normally provides around a fifth of Gaza's electricity, will exacerbate an already critical power shortage.

Mohammad Thabet, spokesman for Gaza's energy distribution company, said it had been informed by the energy authority the power station stopped functioning at midnight because of the lack of fuel.

"The Gaza Strip needs around 500 megawatts [per day]. We have an energy deficit of 380 megawatts," Thabet said.

The distribution company called in a statement for rapid moves to provide fuel to the plant again.

Last week, the United Arab Emirates provided financing for fuel for generators at hospitals and other key facilities. Three hospitals and 16 medical centers had stopped offering key services in recent weeks because of the crippling fuel shortages.

The power station has temporarily shut down a number of times in recent years over energy shortages.

It was hit by "Israel" in previous aggressions against Gaza.

The closure comes as the United Nations' Mideast envoy briefed the Security Council behind closed doors Wednesday at the request of Kuwait and Bolivia on what Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour called the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz said Nikolay Mladenov, the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the council that drinking water is short, hospitals have been closed and "doctors stopped doing surgeries." Mladenov also cited Gaza's 47 percent unemployment rate, rising to 60 percent for young people, he said.

Llorentty Soliz said he highlighted that the situation in Gaza has been worsened by the US suspension of millions of dollars in funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team