GAZA CITY (AFP) - - Gaza was in darkness early Monday after its only power plant shut down for lack of fuel as Israel kept up a blockade of the Hamas-run territory in retaliation for rocket fire,
The closure of the plant, which accounts for 30 percent of the population's needs, plunged entire city blocks in Gaza City into darkness, and was set to sharply worsen power cuts already hitting the impoverished coastal strip.
"We have had to close the power plant for want of fuel," its director Rafiq Mliha told reporters, warning of "very serious consequences for residents, but also for the operation of hospitals and water treatment plants."
Mliha said he had no word on when Israel might allow in the fuel to enable the power station to resume generating electricity.
The Gaza Strip, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on aid, remained sealed off for a third consecutive day Sunday as the Israeli cabinet decided to maintain the closure of crossing points amid escalating violence.
The Gaza director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees called on Israel to reopen the crossings and appealed to the international community to help the civilian population.
The power station's shutdown has "plummeted Gaza City, which has 600,000 people, into darkness," John Ging told a news conference, adding that the loss of electricity "affects every aspect of the civilian population's lives here in Gaza".
"If you visit any of the hospitals you will find that its generators are only producing enough electricity to keep essential equipment going. They are very cold, all of the wards, adding to the misery of the patients," Ging said.
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