As Israeli defence forces continue bombing Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip, the territory experienced a complete power outage after the sole power station in the Palestinian enclave stopped working, Reuters reported, citing Hamas media. The development comes two days after Israel announced that it was going to impose a “total blockade” on Gaza which would include a ban on admitting food and fuel to the area.
As Israel had stopped supplying electricity to Gaza due to the horrific terror attack by Hamas, the Gaza Strip was completely dependent on a diesel-powered power plant. However, the plant ran out of fuel as Israel imposed a complete blockade, resulting in a complete loss of electricity for the territory. Israel cut the power supply to Gaza after the Israeli defence minister announced the government’s intention to do so.
BREAKING: Gaza ran out of its last fuel reserves and all power sources are down. No more electricity in Gaza.
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 11, 2023
BREAKING: Gaza power plant shuts down after running out of fuel
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) October 11, 2023
After Hamas terrorists launched a rocket attack and ground invasion on 7th October, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced, “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.” Since then, Gaza has been facing an electricity crisis as Israel stopped the supply of electricity to the region. But now, its only other source of power has also run out of fuel and has reportedly stopped working leaving Gaza with no electricity.
Earlier, on 7th October (Saturday), the power authority in Gaza reported an electricity shortage of close to 80 percent. On 9th October (Monday), the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had estimated that the power plant could soon run out of fuel.
Public advocacy director at Gisha, Miriam Marmur said, “Within a matter of days Gaza will be in a blackout.”
It is notable that the main source of electricity for Gaza is Israel, apart from its own diesel plant. Two power companies in Israel supply around 120 megawatts of power to Gaza through ten power lines over the fenced border. When the Gaza power plant was working, it often operated at reduced capacity due to its dependence on inefficient diesel fuel.
Earlier Egypt also used to supply electricity to Gaza through the border, but it was stopped in 2018.
As per an Israeli nonprofit organisation Gisha, the sole power plant in Gaza runs on diesel fuel which has been funded by Qatar in recent years. The plant was purchased from Israel and was transported to Gaza via the strategic Kerem Shalom Crossing.
The power supply in Gaza is around 195 megawatts, out of which 120 megawatts of electricity is purchased from Israel which was used to be delivered through direct power lines to the Gaza Strip. Whereas, Gaza’s sole power plant has three turbines which produce energy in the ranges between 65-75 megawatts.
Till the time Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli citizens and made ground invasions inside Israeli territory, Gazans were reportedly getting up to 15 hours of electricity per day on average, depending on weather conditions.
However, the Israel-Hamas war has entered its fifth day and Gaza’s sole power plant has reportedly run out of power while Israel has already announced a ‘complete blockade’. On account of these developments, the 2.3 million Gazans are facing a complete blackout in the region.
On the fifth day of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Israel asserted that it had regained full control of its border towns that were captured by Hamas terrorists. According to The Times of Israel, the death toll from Hamas terror and ground invasion has passed 1,200. Additionally, over 3,000 people have been injured, and many of them are in critical condition.
In its retaliation, IAF has launched mass strikes in Gaza, bombing a large number of Hamas bases. Israel Defense Forces has said that the bodies of 1,500 Hamas terrorists who had invaded Israel through land, sea and aerial routes have been found around southern Israel. Hundreds more have been killed inside Gaza in IDF operations.
