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Palestinians are even running out of drinking water.
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GAZA CITY — Power outages, fuel shortage, appalling living conditions soured by random and incessant Israeli attacks have become a fixed routine in the Gaza Strip as the open-ended Israeli offensive entered its 13th day in a row.
"Never could I have imagined that the situation would get so complicated," shopkeeper Mustafa Mahmud told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Tuesday, July 11.
Like other Gaza residents, Mahmud has no electricity generators left after Israeli occupation forces bombed the Gaza Strip's sole power station two weeks ago at the beginning of its ongoing offensive against the Palestinians.
"What it took six years to build was bombed in a week," seethed the 60-year-old shopkeeper.
The 1.4 million Palestinians in the area have been without electricity for between 12 and 18 hours a day.
"I have electricity about six hours a day and the rest of the time, I depend on my generator, which eats up 10 liters of diesel oil an hour, "said Suheil Abbud, proprietor of Gaza City's Al-Quds Hotel.
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Friday, June 30, that about 200 thousand households lost the source of electricity, and 179 thousand households' refrigerators are not operating due to interruption of electricity current.
It said food stuff storage for the basic commodities like wheat and rice would not last for more than two weeks, and 170 thousand households will loose source of cooking energy in one week.
The Palestinians in Gaza have also been without drinking water since the Israeli attack on the strip's power plant. Sewage systems have no longer been working too.
Some 50 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Israeli launched its offensive in Gaza last Wednesday.
Israel claims the onslaught only aims at freeing a soldier taken prisoner by Palestinian resistance groups. The Palestinians, however, see the offensive as a bid to topple the Hamas-led government and inflict long-term havoc on Gaza's infrastructure.
Fuel Shortage
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A Palestinian family has a dinner lit by a gas lamp and candles after Israel bombed Gaza's sole power plant.
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In addition to electricity knockout, the Palestinians are also facing fuel shortage over the Israeli closure of the Palestinian territories.
"I only have reserves for two days. If nothing changes, I am going to have to close," said Abbud.
"I have never seen anything like it," added Abu Hasseira, owner of the Al-Salam fish restaurants, which overlooks the Mediterranean.
"We often had petrol shortages but we never went without electricity. It's punishment for everyone."
The UN Relief and Works Agency has put the Gaza Strip "on the brink of a public health disaster" since the power plant strike, with less than a quarter of the fuel needed to run backup generators.
"For seven days, we've been without a drop," said Mahmud Ahmed Ishawa, who heads the Gaza association of petrol station owners.
The Gazans are totally dependent for fuel oil supplies on Israel which controls the Nahal Oz pipeline into the territory.
In the past, Israel used to ship in 15 million liters of fuel a month, said Ishawa.
Since the Israeli power plant strike, the Palestinians have increasingly been dependent on generators to make up for the electricity knockout.
But the Palestinians are also risking losing this choice as fuel supplies are becoming increasingly difficult to find with many petrol stations shut.
"If the fuel for the generator runs out, I will hand out the food that's left over. I have no choice," said Abu Hasseira.
"All in all, 100 people — family and staff — depend on me. I cannot close," he noted helplessly.
Israeli defense sources said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered the army to intensify its offensive in Gaza in the days to come.
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