Hamas terrorists struck an Israeli power line on Sunday in a missile attack.
The line supplied power to 70,000 Gaza households.
Israel said it would put workers in danger to fix the power station so power could be out for several days.
Hamas has also fired off 38 missiles that have fallen within Gaza.
Fact: Since July 8, 38 rockets fired from Gaza have fallen within Gaza. Hamas fires from civilian areas…and hits its own people.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 14, 2014
Israel National News reported:
Seventy thousand Gazans from Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah were in the dark Sunday night after a Hamas rocket hit the power line that supplies electricity to those places. It’s not clear when Israel Electric Company workers will be able to repair the system, but they are apparently in no rush to do so. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has asked the IEC not to risk the lives of its employees in trying to restore power to the affected sector in Gaza, an operation that could take hours.
As Operation Protective Edge enters its seventh day, many Israelis are demanding that the country take more aggressive action against Hamas in order to put a halt to the seemingly endless missile attacks from Gaza. One suggestion that has come up numerous times – including from MKs and Ministers like Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon – is cutting off electricity to Gaza,which Israel is still supplying. The Hamas missile, which hit one of the high tension wires that move power from Israel to Gaza, apparently made that a moot point, at least partially.
The Palestinian Authority currently owes the Israel Electric Company NIS 1.5 billion ($525 million) in unpaid bills for electricity. An examination of that debt by business daily Globes shows that the relative amount owed by Gaza was NIS 220 million ($62 million).
Hamas has fired 971 rockets into Israel in the last six days.
ROCKET COUNTER: Hamas terrorists fired over 971 rockets at Israel in 6 days. That's more than 161 rockets a day pic.twitter.com/rliHiMuYcU
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 14, 2014