GAZA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Gazan authorities warned Sunday of a potential humanitarian catastrophe brought by a massive blackout in the Gaza Strip due to a fuel shortage and halted electricity supply from Israel.
Fuel reserves in the Palestinian enclave are only enough to run its sole power station until Tuesday, and "if the current situation continues, Gaza will be forced to turn off the station, which threatens the occurrence of a certain humanitarian catastrophe," the energy authority in Gaza said in a statement.
The authority said "all the electricity lines supplying the Gaza Strip and coming from Israel stopped on Sunday" following an Israeli government order.
The station is currently operating with three turbines and produces an average of 65 megawatts, and there is a deficit in electricity demand of up to 80 percent in Gaza, home to more than 2 million people, it noted.
The authority called on the international community to pressure Israel to reconnect the power lines, and to provide the fuel necessary for the continued operation of service facilities, such as water supply and sewage as well as hospitals.
Israeli media outlets said earlier that Israel decided to stop the supply of electricity, fuel, and goods to the Gaza Strip after Hamas launched a surprise and unprecedented operation against it on Saturday which included the firing of thousands of rockets and the infiltration of dozens of militants into the Israeli towns bordering Gaza. ■
