New fuel crisis hits the Gaza Strip

The stifling Israeli-led blockade on the Gaza Strip, coupled with the non-implementation of Egypt-Gaza fuel import agreements, has led to a fresh fuel crisis in the besieged territory. According to reports, the only fuel currently available inside Gaza is a small, overpriced supply brought in from Israel which Palestinians can ill-afford.

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The crisis threatens to disrupt Gaza’s hospitals, where the lives of many of patients depend on specialist machinery needing electricity around the clock. Emergency generators are not built for constant use and break down frequently. They not only require diesel fuel to work but also spare parts which are blocked by the Israeli siege. As families have to adapt to near-constant power cuts, an atmosphere of dismay has settled over many of Gaza’s neighbourhoods.

Israel refuses to allow gas into the Gaza Strip to ease the power crisis, prompting the Palestinian government to accuse it of engineering the catastrophic situation for political purposes.