GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company said on Friday that “in light of the severe weather conditions and storms hitting the Gaza Strip, the company is issuing an urgent call for help to the international community and relevant parties to provide the vital equipment and machinery needed to restart the electricity distribution networks in the enclave and supply essential facilities.”
The company added in a statement that “the Gaza Strip has experienced continuous power outages for over 15 months, leading to serious repercussions on all aspects of life, particularly in essential sectors such as health, water, education, and communications. To date, none of the urgent needs for the electricity distribution sector, which the electricity distribution company has requested, have been provided to enable electricity delivery to those facilities.”
The company continued, “Providing electricity has become an urgent necessity to ensure the minimum level of basic services for the population, amid the significant deterioration of the electrical network infrastructure, which is difficult to repair without the necessary and essential equipment and machinery.”
The company reiterated its urgent call for the provision and facilitation of the entry of essential equipment for its operations in the first phase, which includes: “300 electric distribution transformers, 400 kilometers of medium-voltage cables, 500 kilometers of low-voltage cables, 2,000 iron poles, 15,000 wooden poles with installation accessories, 25 cranes, 10 MAN vehicles, 10 vehicles to support the movement of engineering teams and equipment, and 5 excavators.”
The company emphasized that “the consequences of the continued power outages, as well as the absence of heating sources in light of the severe weather conditions and freezing cold, are very serious and pose a real threat to the lives of citizens in general and to hundreds of injured and sick individuals in particular. The absence of electricity paralyzes the health sector and limits hospitals’ ability to fulfill their duties towards service recipients, especially since electricity is the main source for operating vital medical devices.”
It clarified that “the lack of electricity affects the water and sewage sector, preventing citizens from accessing clean water, and limits municipalities’ ability to pump and treat sewage water and manage stormwater, as well as waste disposal. This threatens to increase pollution and the spread of infectious diseases. Additionally, power outages negatively impact the educational process, delaying academic achievement, especially among children, and presenting education administrations with unprecedented challenges at this level.”
According to the company’s statement, “Furthermore, the repercussions of the continued power outages and the failure to provide urgent needs for the electricity sector will have a significant impact on other central sectors such as services, communications, and mills and bakeries, which are directly connected to the lives of citizens and cannot be dispensed with.”
A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip began on January 19, lasting for 42 days in its first phase, during which negotiations are underway to start a second and then a third phase, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.
From October 7, 2023, to January 19, 2025, Israeli forces, supported by the U.S., committed acts of genocide in Gaza, resulting in over 159,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of whom are children and women, and more than 14,000 missing, marking one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.
