Israel has halted electricity supply to Gaza, escalating pressure on Hamas to release hostages amid ongoing discussions for a truce. This decision follows Israel’s recent blockade of aid to Gaza, reminiscent of earlier wartime siege tactics. Hamas condemned the electricity cut as “blackmail” and called for immediate negotiations. Currently, sporadic violence continues, yet both sides seek to avoid full-scale war. Calls for a second phase of ceasefire negotiations include demands for hostage exchanges and the lifting of blockades. The humanitarian situation remains dire with fears of famine, as many Gazans rely on solar and fuel-generated power for electricity.
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Israel announced an immediate cessation of electricity supply to Gaza on Sunday, intending to exert pressure on Hamas for the release of hostages, even as preparations for new discussions regarding the future of its truce with the Palestinian group were underway.
This decision from Israel follows a week after it ceased all aid deliveries to the war-torn region, echoing actions taken in the early stages of the conflict when Israel declared a “siege” on Gaza.
Hamas labeled the electricity shutoff as “blackmail,” a term it previously used after the halt of aid.
The initial phase of the truce concluded on March 1, with both sides yet to resort to full-scale warfare, despite sporadic incidents, including an airstrike by Israel on Sunday targeting militants.
Hamas has persistently urged for the immediate commencement of negotiations regarding the second phase of the ceasefire, aiming for a permanent resolution to the conflict.
Israel, however, has indicated a preference for extending the first phase until mid-April, which led to the halt of aid to Gaza over the ongoing deadlock.
On Sunday, the electricity supply to Gaza was cut.
“I have officially ordered the immediate cessation of electricity supply to the Gaza Strip,” stated Energy Minister Eli Cohen in a video message.
“We will utilize all available resources to secure the return of the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer present in Gaza the day after” the conflict, he declared.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, denounced Israel’s action as “a desperate attempt to manipulate our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics”.
In the aftermath of the war ignited on October 7, 2023, due to Hamas’s offensive, Israel initially severed electricity to Gaza, only restoring it by mid-2024.
The lone power line connecting Israel and Gaza supplies the primary desalination facility, and Gazans presently largely depend on solar panels and fuel generators for electricity.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are living in tents, with nighttime temperatures now predicted to drop to around 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit).
Situation ‘dire’
Over the weekend, Hamas officials engaged with Egyptian mediators, underscoring the urgent necessity to renew aid deliveries “without restrictions or conditions,” according to a statement from Hamas.
“We urge the mediators in Egypt and Qatar, along with the guarantors in the US administration, to ensure that the (Israeli) occupation adheres to the agreement… and advances to the second phase as per the agreed terms,” spokesperson Hazem Qassem told AFP.
Hamas’s primary demands for the second phase involve a hostage-prisoner exchange, Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, an enduring ceasefire, reopening of border crossings, and lifting of the blockade, he noted.
Former US President Joe Biden also proposed a second phase that would include the release of remaining living hostages, withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire.
Following meetings with mediators, another Hamas spokesperson, Abdel Latif al-Qanoua, indicated that initial signs were “positive”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated it would dispatch delegates to Doha on Monday.
The truce had largely put a stop to more than 15 months of hostilities in Gaza, where virtually the entire population had been displaced due to Israel’s unyielding military operations in response to the October 7 attack.
The six-week initial phase facilitated the exchange of 25 living Israeli hostages and eight deceased individuals for approximately 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
It also allowed crucial food, shelter, and medical aid to enter Gaza.
After Israel suspended the flow of aid, UN rights experts accused the government of “weaponising starvation”.
At a UN flour distribution event in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Abu Mahmoud Salman, 56, expressed concerns that with the territory now cut off from fresh supplies, there are “fears of renewed famine in Gaza, where the situation remains dire”.
Fears for hostages
Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened further devastation of Gaza if all remaining hostages were not released, issuing what he termed a “final warning” to Hamas leaders.
He also remarked that Gazans who “hold Hostages… are DEAD!”
These threats followed confirmation from his administration that it had engaged in unprecedented direct discussions with Hamas, with which Washington had previously refused communication since designating it a terrorist organization in 1997.
The official who conducted the talks with Hamas, US hostage envoy Adam Boehler, mentioned to CNN on Sunday that a deal could potentially be reached “within weeks” to “secure the release of all of the prisoners, not just the Americans”.
Of the 251 hostages taken by the Palestinian militants during the October 7 incursion, 58 remain in Gaza, including five Americans, four of whom have been confirmed deceased.
Trump has proposed a widely criticized plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, which has prompted Arab leaders to suggest an alternative involving reconstruction financed through a trust fund, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority returning to govern the Hamas-ruled region.
On Sunday, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that such a proposal was “taking shape”.
The Hamas attack in 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 individuals on the Israeli side, most of whom were civilians, while Israel’s retaliatory campaign has claimed at least 48,458 lives in Gaza, also predominantly civilians, according to data from both parties.
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