{"id":4486,"date":"2025-03-10T07:20:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T07:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/?p=4486"},"modified":"2025-03-10T07:20:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T07:20:26","slug":"israel-cuts-off-electricity-supply-to-gaza-as-new-truce-talks-set-to-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/4486.html","title":{"rendered":"Israel cuts off electricity supply to Gaza as new truce talks set to resume"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s Energy Minister Eli Cohen has ordered an immediate halt to electricity supply to Gaza, threatening the functioning of the enclave\u2019s desalination plants amid an ongoing aid shortage in the holy month of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, Cohen said he has signed an order to \u201ccut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately\u201d.\u00a0\u201cEnough with the talk, it\u2019s time for action!\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s announcement comes more than a week after Israel cut off all supplies of goods to the territory to over two million people after reneging on the ceasefire deal that ended the 15-month-long Gaza war. Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed and vast swathes of Gaza have been turned into rubble after non-stop Israeli bombardment.<\/p>\n

Israel wants to extend the first phase of the three-phase deal, while the Hamas group wants the deal to move to phase two, as initially agreed by both sides. Analysts say Israel\u2019s refusal to enter phase two shows its unwillingness to withdraw its troops from the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land that separates Gaza from Egypt.<\/p>\n

Hamas has accused Israel of \u201ccheap and unacceptable blackmail\u201d over its decision to halt the electricity supply to war-ravaged Gaza in an effort to pressure the group into releasing the captives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strongly condemn the occupation\u2019s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water,\u201d Ezzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas\u2019s political bureau\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>, adding that it was \u201ca desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics\u201d.<\/p>\n

Aid groups and rights campaigners have accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity and violating international humanitarian laws for cutting off aid.<\/p>\n

People in Gaza are struggling to get bread and basic supplies as Israel\u2019s total blockade has forced the closure of several bakeries and shops.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said that despite the end to the devasting air strikes on Gaza, civilians continue to suffer due to more than one week of Israeli blockade in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Palestinians are unable to buy these products, and most of Gaza\u2019s population is currently relying on food assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood, water and electricity, all aspects of Palestinian life are being affected by Israeli actions,\u201d Khoudary said, adding that the situation on the ground remains \u201ccatastrophic\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hamas has repeatedly called for an immediate start to\u00a0negotiations<\/a>\u00a0on the ceasefire\u2019s second phase.\u00a0A Hamas source stated on Sunday that its delegation had now\u00a0left for Doha, Qatar<\/a>\u00a0after talks in Cairo, Egypt.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Khan Younis, said the Hamas representatives were in Cairo to hold meetings with Egyptian officials on the possibilities of implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas issued a statement agreeing to the establishment of a technocratic independent committee that will run the Gaza Strip and reiterated calls for the entry of humanitarian aid,\u201d Azzoum added, saying that the group is also calling for Israel\u2019s full withdrawal from the territory as part of any future deal.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office, meanwhile, said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday.<\/p>\n

Palestinians killed in Gaza<\/h2>\n

Earlier on Sunday, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent, as fresh truce talks are set to resume in Doha from Monday.<\/p>\n

The attack on Sunday in\u00a0Gaza<\/a>\u00a0City\u2019s Shujayea neighbourhood wounded several others, with doctors at al-Ahli Arab Hospital describing the condition of some of the injured as critical.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said its air strike targeted fighters who \u201cwere identified operating in proximity to [Israeli] troops and attempting to plant an explosive device in the ground in northern Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Khoudary said that Israel has continued to violate the ceasefire that came into effect on January 19. \u201cAccording to official sources, since the beginning of the Gaza ceasefire, at least 116 Palestinians have been killed and at least 490 others wounded,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why Palestinians are waiting for phase two of the ceasefire, when all Israeli soldiers are supposed to withdraw from all parts of the Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n

The six-week first phase saw the release of 25 living Israeli captives and eight bodies in exchange for some 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.<\/p>\n

During the second phase, Hamas is expected to release all the remaining living captives, mostly male soldiers, in return for the freeing of more Palestinians held in the Israeli prison system. In addition, according to the document agreed to in January, Israel would initiate its \u201ccomplete withdrawal\u201d from Gaza.<\/p>\n

The third phase will see the bodies of the remaining captives handed over in return for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza to be conducted under international supervision.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, United States President Donald Trump\u2019s envoy Adam Boehler told NBC News that\u00a0direct US meetings with Hamas<\/a>\u00a0in Doha on the release of captives in Gaza were extremely \u201chelpful\u201d.<\/p>\n

Boehler stated that he believes something could \u201ccome together on Gaza within weeks\u201d, but did not elaborate.<\/p>\n

Trump had previously floated a\u00a0widely condemned plan<\/a>\u00a0to expel Palestinians from Gaza, prompting Arab leaders to offer an alternative.<\/p>\n

Their proposal<\/a>\u00a0would see Gaza\u2019s reconstruction financed through a trust fund, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority returning to govern the territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more discussion about it, but it\u2019s a good-faith first step,\u201d Steve Witkoff, Trump\u2019s Middle East envoy, told reporters in Washington in response to the Arab plan.<\/p>\n

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Witkoff will be returning to the region this week as he travels to Saudi Arabia for talks on the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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Israelis rally<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, family members of Israeli captives have demanded the government fully implement the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war could resume in a week,\u201d Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, told a crowd in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war won\u2019t bring the hostages back home; it will kill them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yoni Ben Menachem, an analyst based in West Jerusalem, says Israel\u2019s return to ceasefire negotiations is a \u201cgenuine decision\u201d by the government because it wants to secure the release of the remaining captives.<\/p>\n

However, \u201cthe military option\u201d remains on the table and that could be decided on Sunday evening when Israel\u2019s cabinet meets, he said.<\/p>\n

Hamas has\u00a0said that it was ready to abandon its governance role in Gaza<\/a>\u00a0but refused to lay down arms.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank have continued unabated. On Sunday, Israeli tanks entered areas in and around the village of Wadi Burqin, according to local media reports.<\/p>\n

The ongoing Israeli operation in Jenin, Tulkarem and other areas began days after the ceasefire in Gaza, with dozens killed, hundreds of homes destroyed, and more than 40,000 people displaced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: Al Jazeera<\/div>\n

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Israel\u2019s Energy Minister Eli Cohen has ordered an immediate halt to electricity supply to Gaza, threatening the functioning of the enclave\u2019s desalination plants amid an ongoing aid shortage in the holy month of Ramadan. In a post on X, Cohen said he has signed an order to \u201ccut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately\u201d.\u00a0\u201cEnough<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4488,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4486\/revisions\/4488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raqeeb.ps\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}