Palestinians lined up at public water fountains Thursday to fill up jugs after a second night of power cuts, under Israeli military pressure that has sparked fears of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. "When the Israelis come maybe we'll be stuck in our homes for God knows how long," says Israa Abu Anza, a 16-year-old girl standing in a chaotic queue at one of the fountains. Three younger siblings clutch her robe: "We need to drink, to wash, to bathe." An Israeli missile took out a crucial power station late Tuesday. In Rafah, which relied on the destroyed power plant for half of its daily energy needs, residents are now left without power much of the day.
Amnesty International warned that Israel's destruction of three bridges and electricity networks across the Gaza Strip had "left half the population of Gaza without electricity and reportedly also adversely affected the supply of water."
"It's six hours on and six hours off," says Dawoud al-Hamarna, a maintenance chief at the local electric company. Even that is a generous estimate. Rafah was left in darkness throughout Wednesday night. Residents estimated that lights had been on for only six hours out of the past 24. If Israel, Gaza's lone outside power supplier, acts on threats to cut off the supply, those few precious hours of daily electricity will soon disappear as well.