The two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, the most densely populated open-air prison in the world, are in crisis.
They only have 2-4 hours of electricity each day.
Following the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict (Operation Protective Edge), 900,000 Palestinians lacked proper water and sanitation facilitates.
Today that number is 2 million, most of the population of Gaza, majority of whom are under the age of 25.
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A feud between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority has led to Israel reducing the Strip’s power supply.
The impact on people’s access to water and power is worse than it was in the aftermath of the war that ended three years ago this week, Oxfam reported today.
Mint Press News reports:
Since the 2005 election of Hamas in Palestine, the Israeli government has controlled Gaza’s airspace, food access, acquisition of building materials, and electricity. In the last 10 years, the local population has faced recurrent, if not perpetual, military action, including six full-fledged military operations launched by Israel, with the unwavering support of the United States. In 2014, Operation Protective Edge—a 51-day war—further devastated Gaza, killing over 2,200 Palestinians, more than 500 of them children. It also left the small enclave still more vulnerable, as the homes of some 18,000 residents were destroyed by Israeli bombs.
Still reeling from war, the Palestinians of Gaza have continued to face electricity shortages that leave them without power in extreme weather conditions for up to 20 hours a day. According to the Israeli head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas requested that Israel stop supplying electricity to Gaza in April of this year, due to the Authority’s power struggle with Hamas for control over the Strip. Israel has happily obliged.
These outages have led to creative endeavors such as solar power initiatives. But, especially with Israel denying crucial building materials from entering the Strip, the solar power alternative falls short of allowing residents to have normal lives. Having electricity for two to four hours a day is the worst it has been, according to locals; but they’re not holding out hope that things will get better.
Not until Israel’s siege ends, and those funding the siege, and larger occupation, stop financing this devastation.
Related: 90 Percent Of Gaza Has No Clean Drinking Water
