Gaza faces a humanitarian crisis as Israel’s blockades resulted in its only power plant running out of fuel, authorities warned yesterday.
Israel’s blockade on supplies of fuel, food, water and medicines to the Palestinian territory has left Gaza’s 2.3 million residents without electricity, internet or running water.
Its only power plant shut down after running out of fuel, leaving schools and hospitals reliant on emergency generators with dwindling supplies of fuel. Israeli air strikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip, obliterating entire neighbourhoods in retaliation for Saturday’s attacks by Hamas militants, which killed more than 1,200.
Gaza’s Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights warned the enclave was on the brink of collapse. It said: ‘Soon all services vital for the survival of the population, including hospitals, will no longer function.’ It came as:
- The Palestinian death toll since Saturday rose to more than 1,100, including 326 children, with thousands more wounded;
- Israeli air strikes reportedly killed one of the founders of Hamas, Abd al-Fattah Dukhan, known as ‘Abu Osama’, and two other senior leaders;
- Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel, hitting a hospital in the southern city of Ashkelon;
- Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, on a visit to Israel, was forced to run for shelter after warning sirens sounded;
- At least 17 British citizens, including children, were confirmed among the dead and missing from Saturday’s attacks;
