| Gazan butcher Mohammed Hadad opens the door to a walk-in fridge , releasing a pungent smell of rotting meat into his shop . The military action has come as Gaza suffers food shortages With Gaza facing rolling power cuts after an Israeli airstrike hit Gaza City 's only power plant , Mr Hadad 's refrigerators are no longer operational . Large cuts of lamb hanging from steel hooks are spoiling . Until now , Mr Hadad has been moving the meat between his home and shop depending on where there is electricity . But now he is stumped - there is no power in either building . " In three hours it will be completely spoilt , " he says , standing under a motionless roof fan . " We need to find a solution to this . " Guns and butter Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are feeling more besieged than usual as the tense stand-off continues with Israel over the fate of a captured soldier held in the territory . Butcher Mohammed Hadad is seeing his meat turn rotten The international community cut aid to the Palestinians in March when Hamas took office . Palestinians will tell you things have got worse . Every few hours , sonic booms rattle the city , waking people from their sleep and setting off car alarms . Israel has shelled targets in the territory . With no supplies coming into the territory from Israel , food and fuel is running short here , and some international aid agencies are warning of a possible humanitarian crisis if the blockade continues . Israel says its military operation will end if the kidnapped Cpl Gilad Shalit is freed and there is an end to rocket attacks into Israel from northern Gaza . Israel says it is hoping to pressurise the militants into releasing the soldier . But until now this has not happened . Deal hope Like Mr Hadad , many Palestinians want an end to their latest hardship . But most believe that Israel must release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the 19-year-old soldier 's life . Petrol supplies are running low " There needs to be more negotiations , " says Mr Hadad . " A prisoner exchange is the only way to resolve this crisis . " Across the city , people have been looking for fuel for their cars and also to power their generators . Ataf Timraz , 30 , whose family owns two petrol stations and supplies fuel to 30 others , says that they have run out of fuel . As he sits in his office , a worker hoses down the garage forecourt and waves customers away . " People think we have stored petrol , that we 're hiding it , " says Mr Timraz , explaining people 's frustrations . Family history Most Palestinians are trying to carry on with their daily lives , but the threat looms of a major Israeli military operation . Why should we release the soldier for nothing ? Zami Shalouf Beit Hanoun In Beit Hanoun , a town in northern Gaza , residents are tense about a major Israeli military operation . This is the site from where many of the rockets are fired by Palestinians into Israel . Zamil Shalouf , 27 , whose house lies 100 metres from the border , says his wife and one-year-old son left the house three days ago to live with a relative . They were fearful of a possible major military incursion . But Mr Shalouf insists that those holding the soldier must extract a price from Israel . " An Israeli shell killed my brother in his house , " he says . " He was n't a militant . Why should we release the soldier for nothing ? " |