No electricity, fuel in Gaza as winter approaches

No power, fuel in Gaza as winter nears

The Gaza Strip remains without electricity and fuel for the upcoming winter as the Israeli regime steps up the pressure on the Palestinians in the besieged enclave, Press TV reports.

Only six hours of electricity per day and no gas makes most of Gaza’s homes cold for the winter.

In the past few months, electricity has been rationed and also blackouts have increased during rainfalls.

“Homes in Gaza lack enough heat to deal with the situation… People here in Gaza try to get some fire wood to heat their homes and this causes health problems,” said Ashraf Shannon, Press TV’s correspondent in Gaza.

He added that the municipality, the civil defense, and fire departments in Gaza “are not able to cope with the situation due to lack of fuel and even if they manage to get some fuel, …the pumps that they have are out of service and they don’t have spare parts to fix them.”

“Israel does not allow spare parts for the fire departments, the emergency services, and especially for Gaza’s municipality to deal with emergencies and catastrophic situations.”

Fuel and electricity shortages in the Gaza Strip have also worsened due to Egyptian government’s closure of Gaza tunnels. These tunnels are the only lifeline for Palestinians living under the Israeli siege.

Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standards of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

Over 160 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and about 1,200 others were injured in the Israel’s eight-day offensive on the coastal enclave, which ended on November 21, 2012.

The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.