The main and the only power plant in Gaza shut down on Wednesday due to fuel shortage and Israel’s complete embargo of the area following Hamas’s attack on Israeli cities.
According to officials in Gaza, the enclave will experience a humanitarian catastrophe as the power plant completely shuts down due to a fuel shortage.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has pledged to launch a ground offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’s surprise attack.
As a result of the complete blockade imposed by Israeli authorities on the besieged territory, the Gaza Strip is likely to plunge into darkness “within hours” due to a lack of fuel for a power plant.
Palestine has accused Israel of using white phosphorus bombs against civilians in the Karama neighborhood of Gaza Strip as Tel Aviv vowed to escalate its response to an attack by Hamas with a ground offensive.
“The Israeli occupation is using internationally banned white phosphorus bombs against the Palestinians in the Karama neighborhood in northern Gaza,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on X, formerly Twitter on Tuesday.
Rami Abdo, the founder of the European Observatory for Human Rights, posted a video clip on the X platform of what he said was Israel’s use of phosphorus bombs.
“Israeli military forces are using toxic white phosphorus [bombs] on densely populated areas northwest of Gaza City,” he wrote.
The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch had earlier cited reports of Israel’s use of white phosphorus bombs in Gaza during past conflicts, according to Anadolu.
The use of white phosphorus weapons to generate a smokescreen and cover troop movements is legally accepted, but the 1980 Geneva Convention forbids its use in densely populated areas.
There was no comment from Israel on the claim.
The Israeli military said dozens of its fighter jets struck more than 200 targets overnight in a neighbourhood of Gaza City that it said had been used by Hamas to launch its unprecedented wave of attacks.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 900 people have been martyred and 4,600 wounded in the crowded coastal enclave.
