This article was originally published by the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and is republished with permission.

A Palestinian boy sells candy in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza. The immense poverty and unemployment in Gaza has forced children to look for work. (George Azar)

Fowad Afana paced the floor of his once thriving butcher shop, his expression alternating between anger and despair. Before him, meat desperately needed by over one million people on the verge of starvation lay rotting and rancid.

"I can do nothing to save the meat without refrigeration," he lamented. "I'm one of those losing everything without electricity."

Cleaning his shop in an attempt to feel useful, he explained the full implications of Israel's destruction of civilian electrical sources in Gaza.

"Forty-five hours without electricity. No one will buy rotten meat," he stated flatly. "I don't know what to do."

During the late June invasion conducted on the pretext of rescuing a captured Israeli soldier, but which Israeli sources now confirm was planned more than two months earlier, Israeli F-16s took out a civilian target—Gaza's main power plant—leaving over one million people without electricity. Estimates are that it will take six to eight months to bring the electrical facility back online. Because the plant was insured by the U.S., moreover, the repair bill will be footed not by Israel, but by American taxpayers. Meanwhile, 1.5 million people must survive through Christmas without electricity, water, sewage and other basic necessities.

Widespread Deprivation

Imagine six to eight months without electricity. Think of the chaos caused by traffic lights that don't work. No electricity means no refrigerator, no oven, no heat or air conditioning. Radio, television, computer—all useless. Now multiply these effects for an entire city: no stores, communications down, sewage no longer pumped from homes, no water to houses, businesses, gardens or farms.

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And what of the generators kept on hand by hospitals, police and emergency services? Generators are built to last only for weeks, not months. Access to fuel is limited because no electricity exists to get it in. And even if it does make it to the border, a hostile neighboring country prevents it from entering.

But you're resourceful. You'll live off the land, camping, roughing it…you'll make it, right? Anywhere else in the world, yes. But not in besieged Gaza, where an occupying army continues to shoot at you as you try to get water, food and fuel. Were this a natural disaster, every country in the world would send aid—food, fuel, clothing and supplies. But Gaza is a man-made disaster, created by an occupying and invading army that actively works to prevent aid from reaching civilians. And this occupying army has convinced the world that Palestinians are not human.

Abu Shaar sat before his pride and joy, a simple ice cream machine—the symbol of childhood, carefree days and bliss. But for him the creation of childhood memories remains on hold. Without electricity, he cannot get the milk he needs, much less run the machine or store its delicious wares.

"What is the point in destroying our electricity?" Shaar asked in exasperation. The ice cream business supported his family. Now he sits each day praying for a miracle. "Even with electricity, it would be difficult to work now," he pointed out. "Without water, how do I produce ice cream?"

Nightmares

It is the children who suffer most from Israel's destruction of Gaza's power supplies. "We've had a tremendous increase in cases of children traumatized by the absence of electricity," explained Dr. Abdullah Al Aidi, a psychologist at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Balah. "In the dark, the children associate the lack of electricity with the daily shelling. This manifests as a perpetual fear of the unknown."

He paused, then continued:

"Cases range from children suffering from nightmares and night terrors to fear of darkness. Additional symptoms include the inability to concentrate, psychosomatic trauma, bed wetting, as well as chronic symptoms of prolonged post-traumatic stress disorders. Adults increasingly suffer from these symptoms, but the children's anxiety remains directly proportionate to the duration of our power loss."

No Electricity Equals No Water

Without electricity, the pumps do not work. Without pumps water fails to flow into and out of homes. This means sewage services are nonexistent.

Sitting atop her donkey-drawn cart loaded with empty containers, Umm Ibrahim and her youngest child set off on the nearly four-mile trek to Khan Younes. At home her husband and seven children waited, as she joined hundreds in line for water.

"As you see, it may take all day for me to fill the jugs with water and return home," she said. "Where I live is currently under the control of Israeli soldiers. If I come home after dark, they will shoot at me.

"Even if they [the soldiers] can see I'm a civilian riding a donkey loaded with water for my family, they'll shoot. But I have no other options. My children and husband need water to survive under Israel's siege."

Asked how she would react if Israeli soldiers fire at her, she replied sadly, "Nothing. I have a white flag to show I am a civilian, but in reality, should they shoot, I can do nothing."

As Umm Ibrahim waited in line, Mohammed Al Ghalbaan, a worker at the water station, described the gravity of the situation.

"We cannot help all of these people," he conceded. "All we have is a well, and it can run dry at any time. When that happens, we have no alternatives to offer people."

Motioning to the crowd, he explained, "These people come from all over. I'm afraid this station will get bombed by the Israeli F-16s. They already bombed Deir Al Balah's water station last week, leaving thousands of people with no water."

Jamal Adardasawi, the spokesperson for the Palestinian electricity company, confirmed that, in the entire Gaza Strip, there was only one undamaged electricity line. Municipal workers were doing their best to distribute its power among the most homes. In Gaza, a simple civil servant's job can turn deadly. Each day, for the sake of power, municipal workers risk their lives.

"Despite the fact we have pre-authorization from Israel and its military to work on these lines," Adardasawi said, "Israeli soldiers continue to shoot at our workers."

Turning, his voice lowered as he emphasized the gravity of the situation.

"Should Israel destroy this last line, Gaza will sink and explode," he warned. "With no electricity, water, fuel for the sewage station generators—we won't be able to control it."

Mohammed Omer reports from the Gaza Strip in occupied Palestine, where he maintains the Web site <http://www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>.