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Gaza power cuts endanger patients: doctors
 | Here's the requisite tug on our heart strings. |
GAZA - Lutfi Halawa stood beside the hospital bed of his nine-month old daughter Isra, praying power cuts hitting the Gaza Strip will not shut down her ventilator. Without electricity my daughter will die, he said.
| That's a shame, and your kid didn't do anything wrong. Perhaps you could lobby your Hamas representative to give the Israeli kid back to his parents? |
Palestinian health officials say an Israeli air strike, which knocked out Gazas main power plant has put the lives of hundreds of patients in imminent danger.
The attack was part an Israeli offensive to free a soldier captured by Palestinian terrorists militants last Sunday. Israel, which provides most of Gazas electricity, says it has boosted supplies because of the current situation. But the United Nations and the International Committee for the Red Cross say the strike has cut vital electric power for hospitals as well as families. Air strikes have also knocked out water supplies, they said.
Israels closure of Gazas borders has also halted commodities including gasoline, meaning the fuel Palestinians are using to power home generators is being depleted.
Al Naser hospital for children, where Isra is being treated, has been relying on a generator during power cuts. But its gasoline reserve will only last four to five days, doctors say. Those patients await their execution if the gasoline runs out and electricity remains cut. Those who destroyed the power plant will be responsible, said doctor Majed Awadallah, head of an intensive care unit treating five infants.
| And Hamas hadn't nothing to do with it, of course, it's the Jooooz again. |
Palestinian energy authorities are supplying power to different parts of the Gaza Strip in rotation. Residents are denied supplies for eight hours a day. When power is cut, they turn on their generators. But petrol station owners say gasoline supplies may only last a few more days. The Israeli army said on Friday it aimed to open one of the border crossings next week to let in supplies.
Posted by: Steve White 2006-07-02 |
