Gaza strip: The Government Operations Room for Emergency Interventions in the Gaza Strip reviewed the Relief and Early Recovery Plan for the Energy Sector in the area during a special session attended by Ayman Ismail, Head of the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority, alongside representatives from international institutions, partner organizations, and donor agencies active in the energy sector.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Samah Hamad, Head of the Operations Room, emphasized the critical role of the energy sector in relief and recovery efforts due to its direct impact on health, water and sanitation, and education services. She explained that the Operations Room continues to coordinate governmental and international efforts to ensure the delivery of essential services to the population.
Hamad noted that the Energy Authority's plan is part of a series of sectoral recovery frameworks being presented within the Operations Room, as part of an integrated national approach. These plans are regularly updated in cooperation with relevant ministries, international partners, and local experts to unify efforts and channel resources toward national priorities through a participatory and comprehensive framework.
Ismail highlighted the extensive destruction to Gaza's electricity infrastructure, reporting that the war destroyed over 82% of the electricity networks and led to a complete shutdown of all ten feeder lines supplied by the Israeli Electric Corporation. The Gaza Power Plant has been inoperative since October 2023 due to fuel shortages, resulting in total losses in the energy sector estimated at 759 million USD, encompassing both physical damage and economic losses. This situation has left more than two million Palestinians without stable electricity services, with available capacity covering only 5% of demand.
Ismail further stated that the Energy Authority is collaborating with the World Bank, the European Union, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) framework to align efforts and direct funding toward critical priorities in the energy sector.
During the meeting, Mohammad Al-Mubayed, the Energy Authority's representative in the Operations Room, outlined the Relief and Early Recovery Plan for the energy sector. The plan's emergency relief phase focuses on restoring key transmission lines, supplying fuel to critical facilities, and equipping hospitals and shelter centers with mobile solar systems. The subsequent phases involve rehabilitating medium- and low-voltage networks and installing energy storage systems, with a final reconstruction phase aimed at rehabilitating the existing power plant to reach a capacity of 140 megawatts and constructing a new 154-megawatt natural gas power plant in southern Gaza.
