Israel has destroyed the fuel depot of the Gaza Strip’s only power plant, escalating its military campaign against the militant group.
Reuters cited witnesses as saying that the power plant destruction by tank fire resulted in electricity outage to Gaza City and many other parts of the Palestinian.
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The move, which killed around 128 Palestinians, comes after a warning issued by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a prolonged war against Hamas, Associated Press reported.
"The power plant is finished," the power plant director Mohammed al-Sharif said, adding that the local fire brigade was not equipped to extinguish the fire at the facility.
Due to an attack last week, the plant had been working at a reduced capacity of approximately 20%, with only a few hours of electricity for Gaza’s residents per day.
Israel, on 8 July, launched a military offensive in Gaza, claiming to halt the main Hamas movement and other armed groups’ rocket attacks.
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By GlobalDataThe Gaza energy authority Fathi Sheik Khalil told Agencies that: "We need at least one year to repair the power plant, the turbines, the fuel tanks and the control room."
Meanwhile, Egypt has proposed a humanitarian truce, backed by the United Nations, urging Israel and Hamas to accept and end the 21-day conflict, Agence France Press reported.
Since 8 July, the 21-day conflict between the nations has claimed 1,116 Palestinians, many of them civilians, and 53 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.
