There are times of the year that are worse than others. For example, during
the Jewish holidays, Israel closes the border for five or six days. Nothing
comes into Gaza when the border is closed. People run out of gas and
would start using diesel from gas stations and the hospitals would run out
of everything. Everything that comes into Gaza through the Israeli border is
for daily consumption so there is a big crisis if the border closes, even just
for few days.
There’s a specific amount of electricity allowed into the Strip so we can
only use a specific amount. Our situation used to be better, we used to have
electricity for 12 hours a day but now it’s only for six hours a day.
For the people who don’t have money, electricity isn’t really a priority for them.
They are focused on how to feed themselves and their families, not electricity,
despite the fact that electricity is important. In some places, such as the refugee
camps, the situation is really bad, there are people living in really bad housing
conditions. If you push it, the whole thing will fall down. I lived in a similar
area a few years ago. There were no services whatsoever, there weren’t even
electricity lines, but my family and I moved from that area.
Usually clinics and small medical centers have generators. We have a small
medical center nearby and there is a generator there, but to be honest I’ve never
seen the generator on and I also have never seen the medical center working. I
forgot that it still exists.
Life is hard in Gaza no matter where you live, even if one person is in a slightly
better situation, everyone is experiencing and feeling the same thing. Our lives
are dependent on services so we all have the same problem. Even when I
want to take a shower, which is the simplest thing in life, I have to calculate
in advance whether we will have electricity or not. Everything depends on
electricity; we have to adjust our lives to adapt to the situation.”
I. Hanoon, 25, Gaza Strip.
Interview: 14 February 2017
In June 2017, the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip was reduced even
further, to only two to four hours a day.227 The Gaza Electricity Distribution
Corporation announced on 19 June 2017 that “the Israeli grids supplying
227 “Gaza faced with 2 to 3 hours of power a day after Israel begins electricity cuts,” Maan News Agency,
19 June 2017, available at: https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=777721 [accessed 22
August 2017]; “Gaza Power Watch: How Many Hours of Electricity Did Gaza Get Yesterday,” Haaretz,
27 September 2017, available at: https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=777721 [accessed
27 September 2017].
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