The Gaza Strip’s only power plant has ceased functioning as of 10 a.m. this morning, the Gaza Energy Authority announces.
The plant runs on diesel fuel, which Israel has banned from entering the Strip through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing due to the hundreds of balloon-borne incendiary devices and several rockets launched recently by Gaza-based groups into Israeli territory.
Israel has gradually tightened restrictions on Gaza in an attempt to pressure Hamas, the Islamist terror organization that controls the coastal enclave, to crack down on the balloon-launchers.
Gazans subsist on meager rations of electricity, often around 12 hours a day. Without a functioning power plant, daily electricity supply could plunge as low as three or four hours.
According to Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry, the lack of power could have serious repercussions for premature babies in nurseries, intensive care patients and those needing dialysis or emergency surgery.
— Aaron Boxerman
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
