The situation is about to get worse as this will affect hospitals, and sanitation plants.

Gaza goes dark as its only power plant is shut down. The sole power plant shut down in the morning of August 17, 2020 in the besieged Gaza strip. It is due to the lack of fuel that runs the plant. This means long hours without electricity for the 2 million Palestinians living in the impoverished coastal enclave. The situation is about to get worse as this will affect hospitals and sanitation plants.

Since last week, the Israeli Army has attacked several posts across the besieged Gaza Strip. It has tightened its siege imposed on Gaza since 2006.  The Israeli airstrikes targeted resistance observation posts and sites added to infrastructure posts. The attack results in injuring over 10 Palestinians; mostly children and women. Gaza is a hot spot, where every couple of years, there is deadly aggression meted upon the people by Israel. 

The latest aggression was last year during which over 35 Palestinians were murdered. Several residential buildings leveled to the ground in Israeli airstrikes. This attack ended by understandings between the Palestinian resistance movement and the Israeli forces brokered by Egypt. 

Latest tension between Israel and Palestine

The ongoing partially heightened tensions began again when Palestinian youth launched incendiary balloons into Israel. It set fire to a large frontier area in Israel. Israel responded by launching several airstrikes and tightening procedures including closing the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) for goods coming in the Gaza Strip and shutting down Gaza’s permitted coastal fishing zone. Recently, Israel also Closed the Gate of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Convert into Synagogue. 

These restrictions led to a severe shortage of fuel that also run Gaza’s sole power plant. Moreover, it also brought its rebuilding to a halt due to the banning of construction material. In a statement, Palestinian youth said that they will not stop the launching of the balloons until Israel commits to the latest understandings reached between resistance movement and Israeli government to try and stop Israeli airstrike against the people of Gaza. It includes allowing more international contributions to allow for rebuilding infrastructure, the start of an industrial zone and increased electricity.

The World Bank estimates the population of Gaza to be up to two million. More than half of them live in poverty, due to the long years of Israeli blockade that crippled the strip. 

A Palestinian source says that an Egyptian security delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday. They came for talks with Hamas leaders to discuss the recent tension in the coastal enclave; including recent military escalations and the implementation of truce understandings between Israel and the Palestinian factions.

By afternoon, the delegation traveled  to Israel to discuss and reach an agreement between the two parties. So far, Neither the Balloons stopped nor do the Israeli airstrikes.