GAZA, ( PIC )-- The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) held the Palestinian authority (PA) in Ramallah responsible for Gaza electricity crisis, saying that the PA refrained from paying for industrial fuel used to operate the only power plant in the Gaza Strip. In its weekly report, the OCHA noted that since the European union’s commitment to fund fuel for the Gaza power plant expired in November 2009, the PA in Ramallah has assumed responsibility for funding. It said that there are 40,000 people, who live without electricity at all times due to damage incurred to electricity networks during the Israeli military aggression on Gaza. According to its report, the Gaza energy authority warned that fuel reserves are available for a few additional days and, if no more fuel is delivered in the next days, the power plant will completely shut down.
Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible