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Gaza plunges into darkness due to Israel's siege
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-11 10:18 GAZA -- Women and children, old and young, who held candles quietly on the streets in Gaza City, gathered for a candle-light demonstration on Monday night after the city plunged into darkness.
Gaza power plant, the main electricity supplier for the center and the south of the strip, was forced to shut down due to the Israeli blockade of fuel deliveries, leaving 800,000 people into blackout. Israel has been closing Gaza commercial crossings since Wednesday, withholding fuel shipments and cargo flow to the Hamas-controlled territory. "It's awful. When I was ready to write a story, the electricity was suddenly cut off and all the buildings in the streets went black. I have to go to my friend's place to resume my work." Fares al-Ghoul, a local journalist, told Xinhua, adding that "luckily I have a friend living in northern Gaza." The plant produces nearly a quarter of Gaza Strip's electricity. The power of northern and eastern Gaza Strip comes from Israel while the southern town of Rafah is fed by electrical wires from Egypt. Even in the northern towns such as Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, residents have already suffered from daily power cuts due to an intermittent Israeli supply. Israel sealed off the crossing points after violence flared up last week when Hamas and other Palestinians factions fired tens of rockets into southern Israel. The rocket attacks followed the killing of six Hamas fighters in Israeli operations in central and southern Gaza Strip. Parts of Gaza City already plunged into darkness on Sunday after the electricity station turned off one turbine. On Monday evening the second turbine stopped and more blackouts hit the city which depends heavily on the plant. All the street lamps died and the once-vibrant downtown of Gaza City now was surrounded by endless darkness. Noises from the generators can be heard everywhere and two or three shops share one wire to create some light. "When I drove my way to my friend, I saw at least two or three pupils reading under the dim candle lights in front of the window. I suddenly remember it's time for mid-term exam," Ghoul said, almost crying. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak who ordered the closure said Monday that fuel shipments to the impoverished enclave remain on hold. The extension of the closure also violates the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire which calls on Israel to ease Gaza blockade it tightened last year after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, in exchange for halting Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel. "The continuation of withholding the fuel deliveries into Gaza would renew the crisis of electricity shortage in Gaza Strip," said Fawzi Hassouna, an official from Hamas' ministry of energy. "I don't know how long it will last," a boy murmured with a candle irradiating his face, adding "I only want light." |
