Wide-scale blackout imminent as Gaza power station about to run out of fuel

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Gaza Energy Authority said Saturday that the sole remaining power plant in the Gaza Strip would run out of fuel by the evening, causing a wide-scale blackout.

Energy official Muhammad Abu al-Amreen appealed to Egypt to deliver more fuel to Gaza to avert the crisis.

Fuel that reached Gaza overnight Friday can only run the plant for under 12 hours, and by Saturday evening it will have to shut down unless more supplies are transferred, he said.

He called on Egypt to increase it wattage delivered to Gaza to "save us from the imminent humanitarian crisis."

A recent trip by Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh to Egypt had secured pledges to deliver more electricity, but they are far from being put into effect, he said.

The fuel shortage follows increasing unrest in the Sinai peninsula, where Egyptian security forces are battling a Bedouin tribe whose members have attacked police and kidnapped foreign tourists. more

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