Gaza Strip fuel supply runs low

Officials fret about effects of shortage

BUREIJ, GAZA STRIP -- Ramadan Abu Hujeir's gas station was one of the few businesses bustling in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Lines of cars, tractors and people waving jerry cans spilled out into the road waiting to get some of the last drops of gasoline in Gaza.

Local officials and aid workers worry that the fuel shortage will stop more than Gaza's cars. They fear that its hospitals will lose power and its water pumping stations will grind to a halt.

The water company and hospitals have had to rely on generators for an uninterrupted power supply since an Israeli airstrike destroyed Gaza's only power plant Tuesday night as part of an offensive to pressure militants to release an abducted soldier.

Israel also sealed Gaza's cargo terminal and turned off the gasoline pipeline feeding Gaza, and the supply of fuel for the generators has rapidly dwindled.

Eissa Daher, the acting mayor of Jebaliya in northern Gaza, said there was enough gas to pump and treat water for between three and seven days.

"If we don't get a new supply, it will be an environmental disaster," he said.

Hospitals, which stocked up on fuel before the offensive, said they did not count on having to run on generator power for 18 hours a day.

Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the main hospital in the territory, has seven to 10 days of fuel left, said Dr. Jumaa al-Sakka, a hospital administrator.

"If the fuel runs out, people in intensive care units and babies in incubators will immediately die," he said.

The Israeli army said Saturday that Israel had increased the supply of electricity it provides to Gaza to make up for the power plant it hit and would work to allow food and fuel to enter in the coming days.

At a news conference Saturday night, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said his government is consulting with experts about the electricity shortages. He also said, "I hope to be able to bring fuel and food in because there is a famine happening right now, and what is to come may be more dangerous, bigger and vicious."

No food or water crisis is yet apparent in Gaza, though many residents complain of having to walk up long flights of stairs and live without refrigerators during the sizzling summer days.

Towns are providing electricity to different neighborhoods for about six hours a day, but some Jebaliya residents said they spent the whole day without power or water.

Samir Muhanna, 17, said the rolling blackouts made it a challenge for him and his friends to watch the World Cup quarterfinals.

"We went to four different houses to look for somewhere with electricity," he said. "Finally, we found a store with power and we turned his set to the match. More than 70 people turned up after us."