UN calls for urgent action on Gaza power crisis

United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley expressed concern on Friday at the closure of the Gaza Power Plant earlier in the day.

Rawley said that the plant's shut down will "impact all essential services, including hospitals, clinics, sewage and water pumping stations."

"It will also mean that Gaza's 1.7 people will experience power outages of up to 16 hours per day," he added.

Rawley noted that even before the shut down the Gaza Strip was "running on less than half of the electricity that it needs."

Although the Gaza Strip is supplied electricity through connections to Egypt and Israel, the Gaza plant is responsible for providing around 30 percent of the energy needs of the Gaza Strip.

"For the benefit of Gaza's civilian population it is essential that a way be found to allow the power plant to resume its operations and that the broader chronic energy crisis be addressed," Rawley added.

On Friday, Gaza energy authorities announced that the plant had been shut down because they did not have "a single liter of fuel" with which to run it.