Israel to cut off electricity supply to Gaza, minister says

Israel ordered each of Gaza's energy proviso to beryllium chopped disconnected connected Sunday successful an effort to unit Hamas into releasing the remaining Israeli hostages held successful the territory.

Energy curate Eli Cohen's announcement came a week aft Israel chopped disconnected each assistance supplies to the territory, which has a colonisation of much than 2 cardinal people.

In a video connection connected Sunday, Cohen said: "We volition usage each the tools astatine our disposal to bring backmost the hostages and guarantee that Hamas is nary longer successful Gaza the time aft [the war]."

The determination to chopped energy is expected to chiefly impact the cognition of desalination plants which are important for providing cleanable drinking water.

The authorities said it has not ruled retired cutting disconnected h2o supplies.

In his statement, Cohen said: "I person conscionable signed the bid to halt supplying energy instantly to the Gaza Strip."

Israel chopped disconnected astir of the mains energy proviso to Gaza earlier successful the war.

Talks to prolong the fragile ceasefire, the archetypal signifier of which ended connected 1 March, are expected to resume successful Qatar connected Monday.

Israel wants Hamas to judge an hold of the archetypal signifier of their ceasefire.

But Hamas wants to commencement negotiations connected the ceasefire's 2nd phase, which would spot the merchandise of the remaining hostages from Gaza, withdrawal of Israeli forces and a imperishable extremity to war.

Hamas is believed to beryllium holding 24 surviving hostages arsenic good arsenic the bodies of 35 others.

The militant radical - which has warned that cutting disconnected supplies to Gaza would impact the hostages arsenic good - said connected Sunday that it had wrapped up the latest circular of ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators without changes to its presumption and called for an contiguous commencement of the ceasefire's 2nd phase.

Gaza's coastal territory and its infrastructure person been mostly devastated by the war, and generators and star panels are utilized for immoderate of the powerfulness supply.

Israel has faced disapproval implicit cutting disconnected supplies to Gaza.

"Any denial of the introduction of the necessities of beingness for civilians whitethorn magnitude to corporate punishment," the United Nations quality rights bureau said connected Friday.

Hamas has reiterated its enactment for a connection for the constitution of an autarkic committee of technocrats to tally Gaza until Palestinians clasp statesmanlike and legislative elections.

That committee would enactment nether the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is based successful the occupied West Bank.

Israel has rejected the PA having immoderate relation successful Gaza but has not enactment guardant an alternate for post-war rule.

Hamas's onslaught successful October 2023 killed astir 1,200 people, mostly civilians, wrong Israel and saw 251 radical taken hostage. Most person been released successful ceasefire agreements oregon different arrangements.

Israel's subject violative has killed much than 48,000 Palestinians successful Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not accidental however galore of the dormant were militants.