An-Najah News - The International Committee of the Red Cross said Gazans are facing a critical “double crisis” as they struggle to cope with an acute electricity shortage just as COVID-19 has escaped containment and begun community transmission among the vulnerable population of the Strip

Ignacio Casares Garcia, head of the ICRC’s Gaza Sub-delegation said “The population of Gaza is under terrible strain People are stressed: not only are they coping with just four hours of electricity a day; their worries over the virus have been hugely compounded and they are now under lockdown.”

Gaza had managed to prevent community transmission of the virus through a strict quarantine regime that had seemingly worked well until this week.

While international efforts have improved the capacity of Gaza’s health facilities to cope with an outbreak since the start of the pandemic, more needs to be done.