^Sadly, it looks like those poor people will not get power back for some time.
link
"We have an emergency situation," Alvaro de Soto, the U.N. special envoy for the Middle East peace process, told Reuters.
In addition to knocking out key power installations, de Soto said Israel has cut the pipeline that provides fuel to run the sanitation system.
"Without fuel, the sanitation pumps don't function," de Soto said. "You have women, children and ailing people. That's pretty grave. And it needs to be addressed."
De Soto, who called on the militants holding Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit to release him, said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about these humanitarian concerns.
Israeli officials had no immediate comment.
De Soto estimated that fuel supplies to power the sanitation pumps would run out in two to three days. Other officials said the sanitation system had enough fuel to last four days.
De Soto said it would take between six and eight months to repair power systems. Israel destroyed an estimated four to six electricity transformers, worth about $15 million, Western diplomats said.
More than half of the population of Gaza is without electricity. The water supply is also in jeopardy because water pumps need electricity to function."
