A Palestinian official announced today (Wednesday) a power outage in the entire Gaza Strip after the only power plant in the Strip stopped due to the depletion of fuel stocks.

The head of the Palestinian Energy Authority in the Gaza Strip, Engineer Imad Al-Baz, said in a press statement that the power plant stopped working at 2:00 local time because its fuel stock ran out.

Al-Baz added that the stoppage led to a power outage throughout the Gaza Strip.
The shutdown of the power plant threatens to plunge the sector into complete darkness and make it impossible to provide basic life services to citizens.

Israel cut off electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip two days ago, as part of what it described as a comprehensive blockade in response to a surprise attack launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on southern Israel last Saturday morning.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, announced the start of measures to legalize health and support services in the Gaza Strip, in order to confront the continued Israeli “aggression” on the Strip, the cutting of electricity, and the lack of fuel for hospitals.

Al-Qudra said during a press conference at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza that the decision includes directing the limited power of electrical generators to continue emergency and sensitive services that save the wounded and sick to the extent possible.

He stressed that the Ministry is keen to continue providing basic health services to patients in all hospitals and health centers in the sector, despite the difficult circumstances.