Electricity in the Time of Hunger: Gaza Between the Occupation's Siege and Hamas's Governance Failure

In the Gaza Strip, electricity has ceased to be just a basic service for daily life; instead, it has become a new indicator of the depth of the humanitarian catastrophe experienced by the residents. Amid war, siege, and economic collapse, obtaining an extra hour of electricity has become a matter of survival for families living on the brink of hunger.

In this context, the recent debate over the pricing of electricity provided by commercial generators reveals another side of the tragedy of life in the sector, as Hamas's Energy Authority issues regulatory decisions that seem completely detached from the reality of the burning ground.

The cost of operating generators has skyrocketed, with many relying on alternative fuel such as "cooking oil" due to the scarcity of diesel. With rising prices of oils and food commodities, the price of a kilowatt has jumped to about 28 shekels, a figure that turns electricity into an impossible "luxury" for more than one and a half million people living in tents, deprived of the most basic elements of humanity. Those who sleep on the ground do not dream of light, but electricity remains for them a basic right due to its connection to operating the limited water facilities and life-saving services.

The figures in the markets reflect the scale of the escalating disaster; tomatoes are sold for about 28 shekels, and potatoes for about 20 shekels, prices that far exceed the capacity of most families who have lost their sources of income. Amid the limited entry of trucks (only about 200 trucks), a massive gap has emerged between supply and demand, making charitable kitchens and "Takiya" (charitable establishments) the last refuge for people to stay alive, amidst terrifying signs of malnutrition among children and the elderly.

This catastrophe cannot be understood in isolation from the fundamental responsibility of the Israeli occupation, which imposes a suffocating siege and controls the crossings, delaying the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution and ceasefire agreements that stipulated the flow of aid. The failure of the "Trump Peace Council" to adhere to promises of recovery and reconstruction has made the local economy hostage to military decisions, turning any shortage of supplies into a tool for deepening hunger.

At the same time, the failure of Hamas's rule in managing this crisis cannot be ignored. After many years of control, residents still face a fragile economy lacking real social protection policies. Attempts to regulate generator prices remain "ink on paper" and incapable of providing solutions, revealing the current administration's inability to curb the exploitation by traders who control the market of scarcity.

Merely issuing statements while leaving people vulnerable to an uncontrolled black market reflects an administrative failure to protect the internal front and ease the burden on the exhausted citizen.

The issue of electricity pricing is merely a mirror reflecting a deeper crisis; a crisis of a besieged society, a collapsed economy, and residents fighting daily for survival amid the pressures of external siege and internal governance failure. Here, electricity is not just energy; it is a revelation of a double darkness enveloping Gaza, waiting for an answer to the lingering question: how long can an entire community live on this minimal standard of life, while being tossed between the obstinacy of the occupation and the incapacity of the administration?