How Gaza residents get electricity amid destruction: alternative energy and innovative solutions

According to the Electricity Company in Gaza, the initial losses in the areas that the teams managed to reach amounted to 450 million dollars, in light of the devastation exceeding 80%. In the streets of the Gaza Strip, the electricity poles and lighting lamps are no longer in place, as most of them were destroyed or severely damaged during more than 14 months of war.

Dependence on alternative batteries despite maintenance difficulties

Alaa Abu Sitt, who works to repair alternative batteries, explains how this profession has turned into a daily necessity, saying: “Whoever has a tent in these circumstances and does not have a source of lighting, ultimately has to repair the alternative battery. We help people because the new batteries are not available on the market, so we work to reclaim old.“

Alaa refers to the challenges he faces in securing maintenance requirements, adding: “I do not click on people with a repair fee, if the cost of reform is 30 shekels and the person has only 20 shekels, I tell him this is enough. But I am having difficulty finding basic materials, even in all pharmacies I searched for plastic injections to withdraw dirty water from the batteries, and I only found them in a veterinary clinic.“

Alternative Shipping points: A partial solution with multiple problems

Salah Al -Hamami, the owner of one of the shipping points in Gaza City, explains the size of the suffering, saying: “I ship batteries and phones for people, but we face many problems due to the complete interruption of electricity. There are no suitable cables, and shipping does not exceed 40% of batteries energy, which makes people depend on lighting their phones at night instead of lamps. “

The suffering of the population in the absence of electricity

Ibtihal Abu Dabbagh, who lives in a tent next to her destroyer house, expresses her suffering, saying: “The battery price is high and I cannot buy it. Check my phone daily versus one shekel, but it is running out of evening. During the night, we hear the sounds of dogs and my children are afraid, even if they need to drink water, I feel in the dark to reach it. If I had money, I would have bought a battery or a mobile lamp. “

Humanitarian efforts to restore services

In light of these conditions, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Office said that extensive efforts are being made throughout Gaza to restore basic services, despite the great destruction and the continued restrictions imposed on the introduction of the necessary equipment.

The electricity crisis in Gaza remains one of the most urgent challenges, as radical solutions are not on the horizon, while the population continues to adapt to forced darkness by primitive means imposed by the conditions of war and the siege.