Electricity crisis expected in Gaza as Qatar-donated fuel runs dry
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The last shipment of Qatar-donated diesel -- used to fuel the Gaza Strip's sole power plant -- is expected to run out within four or five days, a Palestinian official said Sunday.
The announcement comes after only around two months of steady electricity in the besieged coastal enclave, which suffers from a severe lack of fuel due to a seven-year-long economic blockade enforced jointly by Israel and Egypt.
Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil, deputy chairperson of the Gaza power authority, told Ma'an Sunday that the Qatari donation had helped operate two generators and made electricity available on the basis of eight hours on, eight hours off.
As the last of the fuel runs out, power availability will be reduced to six hours on, twelve hours off, as before the fuel was donated, Khalil said.
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