As fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified this week, many Gazans were left without electricity. According to reports, Israel has blocked the transport of Qatari-bought fuel oil to the Gaza Strip’s only operating, power plant. The 140MW (nameplate) Gaza Power Generating Company (GPGC) plant 5km south of Gaza city, supplies between 40-60MW of electricity to the strip’s approximately two million population.
Until the fighting escalated last week Gaza also received around 120MW of power from Israel state utility IEC and around 30MW from Egypt: even then, power cuts were part and parcel of daily life in the strip. IEC says that five of the ten voltage lines supplying Gaza with electricity were damaged by rocket fire this week and that it would not be able to repair the lines as its technicians are unable to access the area. (CONTINUED - 311 WORDS)