Photos: activists send lanterns 'to light up' electricity-starved Gaza

From across the border, to across the world, providing relief for Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult while the PA and the Israeli government show no end to their cruelty

Narrated

2 min read

Diana Alghoul

21 Jun, 2017

Gaza Israeli peace activists lantern 5 AFP

Gaza is suffering at the hands of both Ramallah and Tel Aviv [AFP]

A group of peace activists from Israel sent paper lanterns into Gaza to "light up" the costal enclave, whose residents have been starved from electricity by the Israeli government with the approval of the Palestinian Authority.

On Monday, the activists gathered in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, near the border fence with the Gaza Strip to launch 150 sky paper lanterns in solidarity with Gaza residents.

Toward the end of April, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) said that it would no longer pay Israel for electricity it supplies to the Gaza Strip, which begun to raise fears that Gaza may suffer a blackout.

Fears were materialised almost a month later when the PA had asked Israel to cut off electricity to Gaza.

Gaza is suffering under a crippling blockade by Israel and Egypt.

From across the border, to across the world, providing relief for Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult while the Israeli government, the Egyptian regime and even the Palestinian Authority show no end to their cruelty.

Even before the power cut, the situation in Gaza was dire [AFP]

In 2015, the UN predicted that Gaza would be uninhabitable by 2020 [AFP]

After the power-cut was implemented, rights groups warned that Gaza could face a "total collapse" [AFP]

A man sending a lantern wearing a "free Gaza" t-shirt [AFP]