GAZA STRIP: Before fighting broke out in Gaza, Mahmud Al Daoudi could never have imagined the radio sets gathering dust in his shop would be in such high demand, offering his customers a precious link with the outside world.

Power cuts have long been a part of everyday life, but the besieged territory`s 2.4 million people are now enduring long blackouts after Israel cut off electricity and fuel supplies.

It is now impossible to plug in computers or television sets, recharge phones or access the internet without generators or solar panels, a luxury few Gazans can afford.

But to keep up with the news, there`s always the battery-powered radio.

`We had a full stock, but we`ve been completely out of them since the first week` of the fighting, Daoudi said.

With the phone and internet cuts, `radio is the only way to find out what`s going on`, he said.

Before the war, a radio cost around 25 shekels ($7), but now they go for around 60 shekels ($16).

`We`ve even resold the broken radios people returned to us,` the 33-year-old said. When the radio sets disappeared from the shelves, customers asked for old telephones with built-in radios andtorches, a welcome help when night falls.

`Now we`re running out of phones, Daoudi said.

`Moving backwards` Some Gazans, like 75-year-old Hebrewspeaker Mohammed Hassouna, manage to pick up the news from Israeli radio stations.

He said it allows him to keep up with the latest `from the Israeli side`.

`I keep my children and neighbours informed,` he said. `The world is moving forward with modern technology, but here in Gaza we`re moving backwards, he said.-AFP