Gaza Strip Goes Dark After Sole Power Station Shuts Down Amid Israel's 'Seige'

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated regions in the world, with a 2.3 million population.

Palestinian civil defense crew looks through a house that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, 8 October.

(Photo: PTI)

The only power station in the Gaza Strip completely shut down on Wednesday, 11 October, plunging the region into darkness amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Chairman of the Palestinian Energy Authority Thafer Melhem told the Voice of Palestine radio station that the power plant in Gaza, home to approximately 2.3 million people in one of the world's most densely populated areas, would be forced to shut down in the afternoon.

Experts have said that the development poses a severe threat to Gaza, potentially leading to complete darkness and the cessation of crucial life services that rely on electricity. According to Gaza's authorities, in a press release on Wednesday, this situation has given rise to a humanitarian crisis affecting all residents of the Gaza Strip and condemned Israel's retaliatory measures of collective punishment against defenseless civilians.

Health Minister Mai al-Kaila also expressed deep concern, emphasizing that the fuel reserves for operating generators in Gaza's hospitals are anticipated to be depleted by Thursday.

(This is a developing story and will be updated with more details.)