Gaza—Palestinians in Gaza reacted to the latest Israeli decision to cut electricity flown to the wastewater treatment facility in Gaza describing the move as another manifestation of Israel’s continuing genocide against them.
“I just signed an order for the immediate halt of electricity to the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement Saturday as quoted by the CNN. The facility is the only remaining one that receives power from Israel.
Hamas’ spokesman Hazem Qassem criticized the latest Israeli behavior as a confirmation of “the occupation’s intent to continue its genocidal war against Gaza, through the use of starvation policies, in clear disregard for all international laws and norms.”
He said the move, however, would have little practical effect given the fact that the occupying Israelis have been doing so since October 2023.
The racist far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gvir welcomed the move saying “the Gaza Strip must be completely and immediately blacked out as long as even one Israeli hostage is being held there,” he said as quoted by CNN. “Israel must bomb the huge fuel depots that entered the Strip as part of the unfortunate deal, as well as the generators operated by Hamas,” he added.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostages Adam Boehler expressed optimism Sunday about a potential truce between Israel and Hamas following direct talks between Hamas and the US.
According to CNN, Boehler said “I think something could come together within weeks. I will say that I believe there is enough there to make a deal between what Hamas wants and what they’ve accepted and what Israel wants and it’s accepted. And I think there is a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans”.
Last week the US confirmed reports that it was negotiating directly with Hamas about hostages and the Gaza ceasefire, in a move that goes against Israeli wish.
The US seem to have not allowed Israel to obtain an advance knowledge of the talks that took place in Doha, Qatar, while the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said it had “expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas.”
On 2 March, Israel blocked humanitarian aid into Gaza violating the ceasefire agreement and refraining from entering the second phase negotiations required by it.
Most of Gaza’s population is dependent on international aid, and United Nations agencies have issued stark warnings over the consequences of the aid block.
At least 80 community kitchens are at risk of closing if disruption to humanitarian supplies continues, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned of severe consequences for women and girls due to the aid cutoff.
The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany called on Israel to “abide by its obligations under international law” and facilitate the urgent delivery of food, water, medical supplies, and fuel to Gaza’s 2.1 million residents. Lifesaving aid “should never be contingent on a ceasefire or exploited as a political tool,” they said.
