JERUSALEM — Israel announced Sunday it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza. The full effects were not immediately clear, but the arid territory’s desalination plants receive power for producing drinking water. Hamas called it part of Israel’s “starvation policy.”
Israel last week cut off supplies of goods to the territory of over 2 million Palestinians, an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of its war with Hamas. It’s pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. That phase ended last weekend. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.
The militant group — which has warned that cutting off supplies would affect the hostages — said Sunday it wrapped up the latest round of ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators without changes to its position, calling for an immediate start of the ceasefire’s second phase.
Israel has said it would send a delegation to Qatar on Monday “in an effort to advance the negotiations.”
Israel had warned when it stopped all supplies that water and electricity could be next. The letter from Israel’s energy minister to the Israel Electric Corporation tells it to stop selling power to Gaza.
The territory and its infrastructure have been largely devastated, and most facilities, including hospitals, now use generators. The electricity cut could affect water pumps and sanitation. A spokesperson for the Israel Electric Corporation said as far as they know, the cutoff affected only a wastewater treatment plant.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassam called it part of Israel’s “starvation policy, in clear disregard for all international laws and norms.” He said Israel has ”practically” cut off electricity since the war began.
Israel has faced sharp criticism over cutting off supplies. “Any denial of the entry of the necessities of life for civilians may amount to collective punishment,” the United Nations human rights office said Friday.
The International Criminal Court said there was reason to believe Israel had used “starvation as a method of warfare” when it issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year. The allegation is central to South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
Israel has denied the accusations, saying it has allowed in enough aid and blaming shortages on what it called the U.N.’s inability to distribute it. It also accused Hamas of siphoning off aid.
The leader of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, warned Friday that attacks against Israel-linked vessels off Yemen would resume within four days if aid doesn’t resume to Gaza. The Houthis described their earlier attacks as solidarity with Palestinians there.
The ceasefire has paused the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The first phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli forces have withdrawn to buffer zones inside Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza for the first time since early in the war and hundreds of trucks of aid entered per day until Israel suspended supplies.
U.S. envoy describes talks with Hamas
The White House on Wednesday made the surprise confirmation of direct U.S. talks with Hamas.
On Sunday, envoy Adam Boehler told Israeli broadcaster Kan that Hamas has suggested a truce of five to 10 years while it would disarm. The militant group has previously called disarming unacceptable.
Boehler told CNN that “I think you could see something like a long-term truce, where we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree they’re not part of the political party going forward. I think that’s a reality. It’s real close.”
When asked if he would speak with the militant group again, Boehler replied, “You never know.”
He added: “I think something could come together within weeks,” and expressed hope for a deal that would see all hostages released, not only American ones. Boehler has said four of the five American hostages in Gaza are dead, with Edan Alexander alive.
Hamas on Sunday didn’t mention the talks, but reiterated its support for a proposal for the establishment of an independent committee of technocrats to run Gaza until Palestinians hold presidential and legislative elections.
Hamas’ attack in October 2023 killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, inside Israel and took 251 people hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many of the dead were militants.
With the cutoff of supplies to Gaza, Palestinians are reporting sharp price increases for dwindling items during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“Since the ceasefire began, the situation has improved a little. But before that, the situation was very bad,” said Fares al-Qeisi in the southern city of Khan Younis. “I swear to God, one could not satisfy their hunger.”
