A report from the United National Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) indicates that due to the strike on the Gaza power plant, “Gaza city is receiving electricity for about two hours a day, while localities in the Middle Area have no supply at all.”
“According to the Palestinian Energy Authority, repairs could take months to complete, exacerbating the Gazan electricity crisis. This will affect private households, companies, and public services provision, including water, sanitation and health facilities. Hospitals will depend more heavily on their own diesel-powered generators, which are not adequate to power services for extended periods. Previously, hospital generators have burned out with extensive use, and power fluctuations damage finely calibrated medical equipment,” it says.
A Palestinian man looks on as flames engulf the fuel tanks of the only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip after it was hit on July 29, 2014, (photo credit: AFP/MAHMUD HAMS)
While the report does not address the electricity supply in the rest of the coastal enclave, in a separate statement, Undersecretary General Valerie Amos says the damage leaves “most homes with an average of 2 hours of electricity per day.”
She says that over 250,000 residents are displaced, 200,000 of whom are in UNRWA shelters. “This is over 10 per cent of the overall population of Gaza. Our capacity is stretched to the limit,” she says.
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