CMEP Bulletin: Gaza hanging by a thread
Gaza Power Crisis Explained: Why Israel and Hamas Are Heading for a Face-off Neither Side Wants [Haaretz]
Haaretz reports, “[Israeli] Military officials told cabinet ministers that it’s important to maintain the accommodations that revent a new military conflict in Gaza. They stressed that further disruption to the electricity supply in the territory could accelerate an escalation. The Israeli government must presumably weigh the fact that the sums at issue, tens of millions of shekels a month, are lower than the economic cost of a single day of combat in Gaza, without even considering the expected casualties.”
The PA’s Wrongful Actions Towards Gaza Residents Do Not Mean Israel Can Shirk its Responsibility for Their Fate [B’Tselem]
B’Tselem reports, “The Gaza Strip is in the throes of a humanitarian disaster. Despite this intolerable reality, the Israeli cabinet has decided to accept the Palestinian Authority’s cruel plan to further reduce the power supply to Gaza. Should the Israeli decision be implemented, the situation in Gaza will deteriorate even further, making the area virtually unlivable.”
With Gaza Ailing, PA Accused of Slashing Medical Aid by Nearly 90% [The Times of Israel]
The Times of Israel reports, “The feud between Palestinian factions that has led to an electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip has also brought about a severe shortage of medicine and medical equipment. According to information given to Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, ‘one-third of essential medicines and more than 270 medical equipment items for operating rooms and intensive care units can no longer be obtained in the Health Ministry’s storerooms and in Gaza hospitals.’”
Swimming in Sewage: World Ignores Gaza’s Wastewater Crisis [Middle East Eye]
Middle East Eye reports, “Every morning, 37-year-old Abdallah Seyam goes swimming in the sea off the coast of Gaza, the only form of relaxation for many residents of the besieged strip. ‘We live in a beach refugee camp in Gaza City. The sea is an indispensable part of our history and childhood. My father taught me how to swim on this beach, and nowadays, I teach my son. It’s our sea,’ Seyam said. Last month, the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (PEQA) said that almost 50 percent of the beach is polluted by raw and partially treated sewage. It advised the people of Gaza to abide by its warnings and swim only in the safe zones that are far from the sewage estuaries.”