Gaza’s sole electricity plant will shut down tomorrow morning due to fuel shortages.

The Palestinian Power Authority announced in a statement on Sunday that the plant “will completely stop as its fuel is expected to run out.”

Gaza has been under an oppressive siege by Israel for 14 years. According to the Middle East Monitor, the Power Authority said that the Israeli occupation “stopped fuel supplies for the electricity plant from entering on Wednesday.” It reports that Palestinians living in Gaza suffer regular blackouts as a result of the fuel shortages. Electricity had already been available for a severely restricted number of hours per day.

Meanwhile, Qatar had as of last year begun to pay for the fuel needed to run the electricity plant. But Israel did not permit it’s entry, as a punitive measure imposed on Gaza. Israel also stopped access to Gaza’s waters and banned several materials from entering the strip, including cement.

Umm Muhammed Umar