Tunnel collapse in Gaza claims life of youth, injures two

Published today (updated) 25/09/2009 09:29

Gaza – Ma’an –

A Palestinian youth died and two others were injured in a tunnel collapse on Friday morning beneath the Egypt-Gaza border, medical sources confirmed.

Medics at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah identified the youth as 21-year-old Bassam Adel Mubarak from the An-Nuseirat area in the central the Gaza Strip. They said his body was brought to the hospital after it was dug out of a collapsed tunnel south of the Al-Brazili neighborhood in Rafah city. Two others were brought to the hospital with injuries, they were not identified.

On 21 September Israeli jets fired four rockets at three smuggling tunnels near Rafah city, severely damaging the sites. Locals say the impact of the explosions has destabilized several nearby tunnels.

Gaza: Tightened Israeli siege put a damper on Eid, energy levels

Published today 10:07

 Gaza – Ma’an –

All crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip remain closed Friday, marking the third week of an increased Israeli closure on the area, causing shortages of fuel and basic goods.

Power plants are running below capacity, providing only half the amount of energy as compared to three weeks ago. Brownouts are common, as are scheduled blackouts.

“In a normal situation, given the depleted capacity of Gaza generators after the war, the Gaza power plant needs 450 cubic meters of industrial fuel per day to generate power for Gaza residents and businesses. This is equal to 3,200 cubic meters per week,” Deputy President of the Palestinian Energy Authority in Gaza Kan’an I’beid said. What the Gaza power plant received in the last seven days, he explained, is “1,200 cubic meters of industrial fuel. The amount is only enough to generate 55 megawatts.”

The Nahal Oz crossing was only open twice over the past seven days. I’beid clarified, however, that “the number of days during which the industrial fuel is allowed into Gaza is not important, that is up to the mood of the Israelis. What is important is the overall amount of fuel we receive, which is not enough to produce the required 110 megawatts of a normal situation.” He said power authorities estimated the shortage at 1,000 cubic meters per week.

Markets full of smuggled goods

As the Eid holiday winds down, so do the crowds at the temporarily busy markets. “They made Gaza look deceptively prosperous,” one shopkeeper commented, “but the crowds are dominated by window shoppers and the goods are mostly smuggled; their prices remain too high for locals to afford.”

“We can find what we want,” a shopper noted, “but for gifts I’ve been buying soap, oils, and other products from Turkey or Syria, the Egyptian goods are such low quality.”

Abu Ahmad, shopping with his family, called Egyptian goods “good for one day, after that you have to throw it in the sea because it has worn out.” Abu Ahmad’s wife piped in and said people were lucky to even use something once, “People out here are just walking, making use of their time. No one is buying anything, just the essentials.”

Inside Abu Al-Amin’s shoe shop the theory seems borne out. There are no customers. “It is true that most of the goods in Gaza are old or smuggled, but at the same time they are very expensive and cannot be afforded by locals,” he said.

Parents, who want to create a holiday atmosphere for struggling children say they feel a lot of pressure. The Eid, some said, felt like a chance to push back the reminders of hardship and war.

Abu Sami, out shopping last week, said his son “kept nagging all day wanting a new t-shirt for the Eid, and when we went shopping for the shirt it cost more than 70 shekels. I was angry with the prices, and we went home buying nothing, so much for a nice Eid present for my son.”

Many modest families said they gave up on the idea of gifts and preferred to make sweets at home for their relatives and children to enjoy were also frustrated. Things like honey, sugar and nuts were expensive, recipes were halved, quartered and the sweets were cut into very small pieces.

“I went out to the market hoping to find some good prices on gifts, dresses for my daughters,” Umm Tala explained. “I decided to do it all in one trip and perhaps get a bargain for buying everything in one shop,” but as the young mother began the bargaining ritual she was surprised, after adding three items to the pile the prices went up instead of down. “It drives me crazy how they try to cheat us and take even more money in such conditions, so I left the shop without buying anything!”