Israel Has Now Cut Off Electricity To The Entire Gaza Strip To Pressure Hamas To Release The Hostages
Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen said he ordered the Israel Electric Corporation to cut off “immediately” the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip until there is “no longer Hamas in Gaza”.
Israel has cut off electricity to the entire Gaza Strip until Hamas releases the remaining hostages.
On Sunday, March 9, Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen said he ordered the Israel Electric Corporation to cut off “immediately” the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip until there is “no longer Hamas in Gaza”.
The power cut would also affect the only functioning distillation plant that produces drinking water in Gaza, leaving Palestinians without electricity, water or food, as Israel has also blocked all aid from entering Gaza since March 1.
Israel already cut off electricity to Gaza after Oct. 7, 2023, but later reinstalled one line of electricity, which was supplied the distillation plant, according to Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian Authority said Israel’s decision to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip is “an escalation in the genocide, displacement and humanitarian disaster in Gaza”.
A Hamas official said that the cut-off is “a desperate attempt to pressure our people (Palestinians) and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics”.
Deliberately depriving civilians of access to objects indispensable to their survival, such as cutting off electricity as collective punishment, is a war crime under international humanitarian law,
Israel and Hamas are kicking off another round of ceasefire negotiations in Qatar on Monday, March 10, in the hopes of resuming the ceasefire deal.
On March 1, Israel said it won’t pursue phase two of the deal as previously planned and wanted to extend phase one, which started on Jan. 19, by another 50 days to release the remaining hostages.
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Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
