The escalating energy crisis in Gaza has left many residents in the dark adding to their sufferings and forcing sewage treatment facilities to close.
The Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Operations in Gaza, Bo Schack, said on Wednesday that the power and water crises in the Gaza Strip are putting strain on the territory.
Lack of fuel has led to Gaza’s sole power to turn off its engine in mid-April, leaving residents with barely four hours of power every day. The power shortage has caused problems for medical facilities and worsened the conditions of some patients, whose lives depend on electricity.
Mohammed al-Kamouni is an eight-year-old boy who suffers from severe lung complications. He requires special equipment to maintain his breathing day-round, which turn useless without electricity.
Mohammed’s father said he suffers more than anyone else as his son depends entirely on equipment to maintain his breathing. “When the power is cut, my wife and I run to check our generator.”
CGTN’s Noor Harazeen said that the current acute shortage of power has also reduced water quality. Authorities were forced to close sewage treatment facilities and pump untreated sewage into the sea.
In Gaza, life starts when the electricity comes. There are no permanent solutions for the crisis on the horizon, but residents believe Hamas and the Palestinian Authority should help them and end political rows over fuel costs, before they put the blame on Israel.
