The arrival of the fuel came less than a day after the power authority announced that Gaza’s sole power station had shut down once again because of lack of fuel. Gaza border official Raed Fattuh told Maan news that the first truck loaded with Qatari gas had entered Gaza, while four more were expected to arrive before Friday.

The plant was expected to resume operations soon, with the rest of the 30 million litre shipment scheduled for delivery in coming days, after at least four delays due to Egypt in the past three weeks. The shipments are being transported via Egypt to Israel and onto Gaza through the Karam Abu Salim crossing, according to AFP. 

Last month, Israel gave its permission for the fuel to be transferred through its territory after receiving a request from Egypt, an Israeli security official said.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are suffering a fuel crisis which has now entered in its fifth month, causing extended power cuts of up to 18 hours that significantly impacts the lives, health and livelihood of Gaza’s 1.6 million residents. The situation was eased somewhat in April after a deal between Gaza’s Hamas government and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

The Energy and National Resources Authority in Gaza said that the fuel is urgently needed in Gaza, and that it is unfortunate that Egypt deliberately delayed the trucks’ entry into the coastal region, and also denounced the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade on Gaza.

In a press release the Authority stated that it conducted all needed arrangements with the Egyptian Petroleum Authority to allow the Fuel’s entry especially since the Fuel, donated by Qatar, has been in tankers in the Suez Canal since more than 45 days, awaiting an Egyptian decision to allow its transfer into Gaza despite a prior agreement in this regard, Imemc.org reported.

The Gaza Power Plant produced electricity at less than 30 per cent of capacity in April, causing severe disruption to basic services, including water, health and sanitation, Al Jazeera reported.

Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU) noted that the situation is critical, with up to 40 per cent of the 1.6 million population under blockade getting water in their houses only once every four days, PNN reported.

Spokesman for the health ministry Ashraf Al-Qudra earlier warned that medical work in Gaza hospitals is still endangered by the power crisis and there is not sufficient fuel even to operate their emergency generators in the coming days.

The fuel crisis has also affected the fishing industry, already crippled by restricted access to Gaza’s fishing waters imposed by Israel’s siege.

The Palestinian enclave usually depends on fuel smuggled in from Egypt, but the power facility has run out. Gaza is under a sea and land blockade imposed by Israel, which prevents regular shipments of power to the area, Al Jazeera reported.

Although the Qatari Government sent 30 million litres of fuel to ease the crisis months ago, Israel and Egypt have prevented its entry into Gaza, and it still sits in reservoirs in the Port of Suez, although Israel last week approved Egypt to transport it to Gaza, according to Haaretz.

Apart from the significant impact on daily life such as incapability to use computers, the spoiling of food, the power cuts have also resulted in several deaths and many injuries, explosion of  generators, and the failure of life-saving medical and surgical equipment which depend on electricity.