Gaza Electricity Company estimates war losses at $450m

The Gaza Electricity Company has estimated the initial losses incurred by the power sector at about $450 million, due to the massive destruction of electrical networks by Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians in the enclave, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.

The company confirmed that rebuilding and rehabilitating the power sector requires urgent funding, time and effort, in light of the urgent need for maintenance materials and equipment to resume providing electricity services to vital facilities in Gaza. It added that it has not yet received any of the materials it needs, which poses major challenges to its technical teams in providing electricity to essential facilities.

There is already a response plan in place consisting of three stages: the first covers 60 days of emergency, followed by a 6-month plan, then a comprehensive 3-year plan, which focuses on gradually rehabilitating the networks.

The company pointed out that it lost 50 of its staff in the Israeli genocide, including engineers and technicians, but it will continue to work on rebuilding what was destroyed. It added that more than 80 per cent of its vehicles were completely destroyed, leaving it in urgent need of heavy machinery and excavators to be able to carry out maintenance operations.

Calling on the international community to intervene immediately to secure the entry of materials needed for the electricity sector, the company stressed that this intervention is necessary to support reconstruction efforts and protect the lives of 2.5 million citizens suffering from the power crisis in the Gaza Strip.

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The power sector in Gaza faces major economic challenges due to the lack of international and institutional support, which complicates the process of renewing electrical networks and installing alternative energy systems. The continuous rise in the prices of electrical materials also places a heavy burden on small projects that were seeking to provide sustainable solutions for renewable energy.

In this context, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed that great efforts are being made across the Gaza Strip to restore basic services, despite the massive destruction caused by the war and the restrictions imposed on the entry of necessary equipment.

According to a recent UN report, Gaza is going through an unprecedented destruction crisis, as estimates indicate that removing the debris and rubble resulting from the Israeli war, estimated between 40 and 50 million tons, and restoring services to normal will take years to complete.