Egypt Cuts Last Power Line to Gaza, Leaving Southern Strip in Blackout

The two lines which feed electricity to the southern Gaza Strip from Egypt have been completely disconnected, Gaza’s electricity company announced.

The Gaza Strip, controlled by the Hamas terror organization, continues to suffer from a chronic lack of electricity, and the situation deteriorated over the weekend as it lost its last power connection to Egypt.

The last power line from Egypt to the Gaza Strip was disconnected on Saturday after reported damage, exacerbating an already severe electricity shortage in the southern Gaza Strip, and leaving the areas of Rafah and Khan Yunis in a full electric blackout, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported.

One of the connecting lines was disabled two weeks ago, leading Gaza’s electricity company to announce an electricity rationing of six hour intervals followed by 12 hours without power for all districts in Gaza, as the company could only operate one of their four generators.

The Gaza Strip was left almost entirely without power during a number of days last month due to maintenance work on power lines from both Israel and Egypt as well as the ongoing tax disputes between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority on fuel for the enclave’s near-defunct power station.

Palestinian officials announced at the end of April the Gaza Strip would be exempted from paying fuel tax this summer, marking a temporary resolution to the tax dispute that has deepened the electricity crisis.

Gaza’s power plant, together with power from Egyptian and Israeli electricity grids, fails to cover the territory’s energy needs and has suffered from chronic fuel shortages.

By: United with Israel Staff

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