Electricity will stop 'within hours', Gaza authorities warn

Gaza, Oct 11

The authorities in Gaza warned on Wednesday that electricity supply to the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave "will completely stop within hours", limiting the ability to provide basic services.

In retaliation to the Hamas attack on October 7, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday had ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza, saying he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel, CNN reported.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, the enclave's Hamas-controlled government said: "All basic services in Gaza depend on electricity, and it will not be possible to partially operate them with generators due to the prevention of fuel supplies through the Rafah gate."

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has also said that it was forced to close all 14 of its food distribution centres in Gaza and “as a result half a million people have stopped receiving vital food aid”.

Gaza, one of the most densely populated places where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles, has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years, when Hamas seized control, reports CNN.

This prompted Israel and Egypt to impose a strict siege on the territory, which is ongoing.

Israel also maintains an air and naval blockade on Gaza.

More than half of the enclave's population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80 per cent relying on humanitarian assistance.