Gazans turn to solar power to face energy crisis

Palestinians in the besieged Gaza strip have turned to solar power as the Israeli-blockaded sliver is grappling with severe fuel and electricity shortage.

“We were forced to consider relying on solar power alone after the energy crisis that events in Egypt brought about,” AFP quoted Nabil al-Burqani, the director of Gaza City’s children’s hospital, as saying.

In recent months, fuel and electricity shortages in Gaza have worsened as the Egyptian military has blocked supply tunnels leading into the region. The tunnels were the only lifeline for Palestinians living under the Israeli siege.

“We need solar energy in order to keep up care for babies in the maternity ward,” said Burqani, adding, “If there’s just a minute-long cut to the electricity that runs the baby incubators, a child could die.”

The humanitarian crisis facing Gaza has escalated as the only power plant in the Palestinian territory has stopped working since November 1, 2013 due to severe fuel shortage.

Gaza has been under the Israeli siege since 2007, a situation that has made the Palestinians desperately dependent on goods coming through the tunnels.

The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), which represents more than 130 Palestinian civil society organizations, has called on the international community to end the continuous Israeli siege.

Several human rights organizations and civil groups have also criticized the Egyptian army for preventing the people in Gaza from accessing most of their basic goods like construction materials, food, and fuel.