Israel suspends supply of electricity to Gaza

JERUSALEM — Israel ordered an immediate halt to Gaza's electricity supply on Sunday in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages, even as it prepared for fresh talks on the future of its truce with the Palestinian group.

The decision came a week after it blocked all aid supplies to the enclave, a move reminiscent of the initial days of the conflict when Israel announced a "siege" on Gaza.

Hamas described the electricity cut as "blackmail", a term it had also used after Israel blocked the entry of aid.

The truce's initial phase ended on March 1 and both sides have refrained from returning to all-out war, despite sporadic violence, including an airstrike on Sunday that Israel said targeted militants.

Hamas has repeatedly called for an immediate start to negotiations on the cease-fire's second phase, aiming to end the conflict permanently.

Israel says it prefers extending phase one until mid-April, and halted aid to Gaza over the impasse.

"I have just signed the order to stop supplying electricity immediately to the Gaza Strip," Energy Minister Eli Cohen said in a video statement.

"We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after" the conflict, he said.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, described Israel's move as "a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics".

The Palestinian Authority said on Monday that Israel's decision was "an escalation in the genocide" in the war-ravaged territory.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "strongly condemns the Israeli Ministry of Energy's decision to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip, considering it an escalation in the genocide, displacement and humanitarian disaster in Gaza".

Dire conditions

Just days after the conflict erupted on Oct 7, 2023, Israel cut electricity to Gaza, only restoring it in mid-2024.

The sole power line between Israel and Gaza supplies the main desalination plant, and Gazans now mainly rely on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza live in tents, with night-time temperatures now forecast around 12 C.

Meanwhile, Hamas representatives met Egyptian mediators over the weekend, emphasizing the urgent need to resume aid deliveries "without restrictions or conditions", a Hamas statement said.

"We call on mediators in Egypt and Qatar, as well as the guarantors in the US administration, to ensure that the (Israeli) occupation complies with the agreement ... and proceeds with the second phase according to the agreed-upon terms," spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.

On Monday, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on the cease-fire deal.

"The (Israeli) occupation continues to renege on the agreement and refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling," Hamas said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday.

Last week, United States President Donald Trump threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages were not released, issuing what he called a "last warning" to Hamas leaders.

US envoy Adam Boehler, who held unprecedented direct talks with Hamas officials in recent days, said on Sunday that a deal could be reached "within weeks" to secure all remaining hostages.

Boehler told CNN there could be "a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans".

Agencies via Xinhua