Gaza Goes Dark as Sole Power Plant Ran out of Fuel

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 11:  Gaza’s only power plant in the Palestinian enclave has run out of fuel forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies, the Energy Ministry said Wednesday.

That will leave only generators to power the territory, if they have diesel to run them – to power critical infrastructure, even as Israel rains down missiles on the Palestinian territory. It also means there will be no running water or operational elevators, and people won’t be able to charge mobile phones. “The only power plant in the Gaza Strip stopped functioning at 2 PM (4.30 PM IST),” Gaza Energy Authority chief Jalal Ismail said. He had earlier warned the plant was running short of fuel. An hour later, Gaza went dark.

The blackouts came as Israel has decided to block fuel shipments into the Gaza Strip as part of what the Israeli government has called a “complete siege” on the territory run by the Hamas militant group.

Israel has massed forces, tanks and other heavy armour around Gaza in its retaliatory operation against what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled “an attack whose savagery … we have not seen since the Holocaust.” A ground offensive, however, appears to have been delayed after rocket strikes from Lebanese terror group Hezbollah sparked talk of a two-front war for Israel.

Fears have been intense in Israel for the fate of at least 150 hostages — mostly Israelis but also including foreign and dual nationals — being held in Gaza by Hamas.

“It is very difficult – we don’t have water… internet… electricity,” Kamal Mashharawi, a Gaza resident said. “We tried to go to the nearest supermarket but it was unsafe because of explosions.” “I don’t think civilians deserve to die – they should be left out of the conflict,” he said.

Electricity shut-off in Gaza has sparked fears of an additional crisis as hospitals scramble to treat the thousands who have been injured in Israel’s devastating aerial strikes. Israel on Monday had ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza – a 365 square km blockaded patch of land that is home to 2.3 million people and is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters, “No electricity, no food, no water, and no gas – it’s all closed.” Shortly after Mr Gallant’s statement Israel stopped supply of fuel, water and food to Gaza.

In addition, medical supplies, including oxygen, are running low at several hospitals, including Gaza’s overwhelmed Al-Shifa hospital, emergency room physician Mohammed Ghonim said. Israel’s siege was in response to a brutal terror attack by Hamas operatives early Saturday; an estimated 1,500 gunmen stormed the heavily fortified border and slaughtered hundreds.

Hamas also bombarded Israel with thousands of rockets, overpowering the famed ‘Iron Dome’. Nearly 4,000 people had died on both sides while about 6,000 have been reported injured. Hamas has also taken an estimated 150 hostages, including children and foreign nationals, and has threatened to execute one for every bomb dropped without warning on a Palestinian home. Four hostages have died so far, although they were reportedly killed during Israeli air strikes.

Israeli troops have killed at least 1,000 Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated from Gaza in incursions that began at the weekend, and have reinforced all communities in Israel as hostilities spread to other fronts. Online Israeli media reports said chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said among Hamas targets destroyed in a Gaza counter-offensive was an advanced system for tracking aircraft.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a phone call on Tuesday, discussed U.S. military support for Israel following attacks by Hamas gunmen and agreed to speak again in the next few days, the White House said.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday spoke to his counterpart from the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed the “crisis” in West Asia triggered by the attacks on Israel by Hamas militants and Tel Aviv’s counter offensive. Mr. Jaishankar is currently on a visit to Sri Lanka.

A top opposition Israeli politician says he has reached an agreement to enter a wartime unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Benny Gantz, a former defence minister and military chief of staff, released what he said was a joint statement with Netanyahu.

The statement said they would form a five-member “war-management” Cabinet. It will consist of Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Gantz, current Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and two other top officials serving as “observer” members. It said the government would not pass any legislation or decisions that are not connected to the war as long as the fighting continues. It was not immediately clear what would happen to Mr Netanyahu’s existing government partners, a collection of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.

Britain’s top diplomat has arrived in Israel to express “unwavering solidarity” with the country following the attacks by Hamas. The government says Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will meet survivors and senior Israeli officials “to outline U.K. support for Israel’s right to defend itself.”

The U.K.’s Conservative government and the opposition Labour Party have both strongly backed Israel’s right to retaliate for the attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. The British government has said 10 or more U.K. citizens are dead or missing after the attacks on southern Israel.

The reports received from Gaza strip said the conditions in the coastal enclave were deteriorating quickly Wednesday as entire city blocks were reduced to rubble and residents searched for places to go. Gaza’s Civil Defence Department warned that there were too few rescue teams to search for survivors buried under rubble, and that teams were unable to reach many places because of damage to roads and constant bombardments.

Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris. The bombardment raged on even though militants are holding an estimated 150 people dragged from Israel into Gaza — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.

“There is no safe place in Gaza right now,” said journalist Hasan Jabar after three Palestinian journalists were killed in the bombardment of a downtown neighbourhood home to government ministries, media offices and hotels.

Israel has vowed unprecedented retaliation against the Hamas militant group ruling the Palestinian territory after its fighters stormed through the border fence on Saturday and gunned down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.

As the war between Israel and Hamas grows intense, the Indian Embassy in Israel has set up a 24-hour helpline desk for the citizens stranded there and has asked them to follow the security advisories. In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Israel has stated that it has been working constantly to help fellow citizens. “The Embassy has been working constantly to help our fellow citizens in Israel through a 24-hour helpline. Please remain calm & vigilant & follow the security advisories,” India in Israel wrote on X.