Black-market black gold: Bottles of smuggled petrol wait for buyers in Rafah on June 21, when the fuel was selling for $7 per liter ($26.50 per gallon). A delivery of diesel, intended for Gaza City’s electricity plant, was stopped at the Israeli border on Nov. 13. As a result, it was lights out for two thirds of the city’s 480,000 population that evening when the plant turned off due to a fuel shortage. Israeli Defense Ministry officials said the border was closed that day due to rocket attacks from Gaza and intelligence that Gazan militants planned to attack a border crossing.