The fuel tanks at Gaza’s only power plant came under attack early Tuesday, threatening to deepen an already dire humanitarian situation.
The attack came hours after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in a televised speech of a "prolonged" campaign in Gaza against Hamas. Israel carried out more than 70 strikes overnight - one of the biggest bombardments in the nearly month-long campaign. A Palestinian health official told The Associated Press that at least 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling on Tuesday.
Thick black smoke billowed over Gaza City as the fire raged at the power plant, which is the enclave's second-largest source of electricity and the only provider inside the territory for its 1.8 million citizens.
Fathy Sheikh Halil, who is the director of the Gaza Electricity Station Company, said the damage would take months to repair.
Jamal Dersawi, the plant’s general manager, confirmed that the major fuel storage tanks supplying the facility took a hit before dawn. There was no immediate comment from Israel’s military about the attack.
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