GAZA CITY, 20 February 2012 (IRIN) – An energy crisis is currently hitting the Gaza Strip‘s public services hard and could lead to a severe humanitarian crisis if a sustainable solution is not found soon.

“If the power plant does not resume its work in the next days, some hospitals will be left without electricity,” Mahmud Daher, officer-in-charge of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Gaza, told IRIN. Gaza’s only power plant was forced to shut down on 14 February due to a lack of fuel, which has previously been imported in amounts of up to one million litres a day from Egypt.

“The current crisis is a political problem that started six years ago. The Israeli occupation, the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to provide the Gaza Strip with funds, and the policy of Egypt which is dealing with Gaza out of security calculations, have all contributed to the current situation,” said Hamas government spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.

For more on this story, visit: IRIN Middle East | OPT: Gaza’s energy crisis close to tipping point | OPT | Conflict | Economy | Governance | Health & Nutrition.