A harsh winter storm has flooded tents in Gaza and cut off one of its most important remaining lifelines – solar power.
Relentless rain and falling temperatures were accompanied by two days of cloud cover, bringing life in camps nearly to a halt as batteries ran out of power. In Gaza, where Israel's war long ago destroyed the electricity grid, solar panels have become the backbone of daily survival.
“The batteries are dead and the phones are dead because of the weather and the absence of sunlight,” Mohammed Abu Shanab, a 40-year-old resident of Gaza city, told The National.
Mr Abu Shanab runs a small solar-charging station, a business that emerged out of necessity amid almost constant power cuts. Every day, about 100 people rely on him to charge their phones and small batteries – their only connection to the outside world.
“Yesterday, today and tomorrow I am closed because there is no sun,” he said. “Imagine more than 100 people around me unable to charge their phones or light their tents at night.”
Heavy rain floode
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