Gaza Herald – More than a month into the so-called ceasefire, millions of Palestinians in Gaza remain trapped in darkness. Despite international promises of humanitarian access, electricity in the enclave has been entirely cut for over two years, leaving families to eat, sleep, and survive by flashlight or open fire. Fuel restrictions and the destruction of Gaza’s only power plant have reduced energy output to zero megawatts, according to local officials.
Before the genocide, Gaza relied on 120 MW of electricity from Israel and 60 MW from its own plant, but Israel’s “total siege” in October 2023 cut all supply. Today, 80% of Gaza’s electrical infrastructure lies destroyed, with estimated losses of $728 million in networks and machinery. Most families cannot afford batteries or solar alternatives, and even candle use has stopped due to fire risks in overcrowded tents.
Officials say the blockade continues to choke reconstruction and fuel entry, while Israel claims to have connected limited power lines to desalination plants, a drop in a sea of devastation. The enclave’s two million residents face a future where darkness is not temporary but structural, a deliberate extension of the ongoing genocide that has reduced Gaza’s cities to rubble.
Human rights monitors warn that the deprivation of electricity, water, and fuel is being weaponized as collective punishment, a slow, engineered death under siege disguised as a ceasefire.
