As Israel-Hamas Clashes Continue, Gazans Face Crisis

"Many of these families have been subsisting on this ration for years, and they are living hand-to-mouth," Ging said. "This is a disastrous situation, and it's getting worse and worse. Even during the cease-fire we were prohibited from building up our reserves, which could have prevented the current crisis."

Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Peter Lerner said Israel had planned to open the border crossings to allow fuel for the power plant and food aid to enter Gaza. But he said officials maintained the closure after Israeli intelligence warned that Palestinian gunmen planned to attack the crossings.

Lerner also rejected Ging's criticism of Israel.

"Instead of blaming Israel, they should be blaming Hamas," Lerner said. "We hope the Palestinians will stop firing rockets and we can get the crossings opened again."

Foreign journalists based in Israel have not been allowed to enter Gaza for 10 days. The Foreign Press Association has complained to the Israeli government that access to Gaza is an essential part of covering the region, but Lerner said no change was expected in the next few days.

Most of Gaza City has been dark since Thursday night, when Gaza's main power plant, which supplies a third of the territory's electricity, ran out of fuel. More than half of Gaza's power enters on lines from Israeli plants, and that supply has not been affected by the blockade.

Awni Sawafiri, a 37-year-old taxi driver and father of three, said the blackout began about 6 p.m. Thursday. The electricity resumed for a few hours in the middle of the night but went off again at 8 a.m. Friday. He said there is also no cooking gas available in Gaza.

"When I look around, it looks as though people have gone back in time," he said. "With no electricity, more and more people are burning wood to make a fire to cook."

What he does have is gasoline for his taxi, which is being smuggled in from Egypt through tunnels. But with the economic situation so dismal, he said, he has few customers.

Hana Bardawi, who lives in the Shati refugee camp with her seven children, says she is completely dependent on the U.N. aid. Her husband, who is ill, does not work.

"If the U.N. assistance stops, I will have to take my two oldest sons out of university, because I won't be able to afford it," she said. "Now with winter coming, we also need jackets and warm clothes for the children."

Palestinian parliament member Jamal al-Khodari said that 80 percent of Gazans live below the poverty line and that the average per capita income is $2 a day.

"This is an illegal collective punishment," he said. "There is a shortage of medicines in the hospitals, and the cutting of electricity is further pushing the situation deeper toward a crisis."

Ahmed Abu Hamda, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, said the Israeli closure was the main talk of Palestinians at Friday prayer in the mosques.

"People just feel hopeless; we don't see any solution to this situation," he said in a telephone interview. "They say, 'What the hell is going on here? I just want to live.' "

Special correspondent Samuel Sockol contributed to this report.