Tel Aviv – Israel cut the supply of electricity to Gaza, authorities said on Sunday, which affects a desalination plant that produces drinking water for part of the arid territory. Hamas called him part of the “starvation policy” of Israel.
Israel last week suspended the supplies of goods to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians, an echo of the siege that imposed in the first days of the war.
Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of its high fire. That phase ended last weekend. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in exchange for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
On the other hand, Hamas wants to begin negotiations in the second most difficult phase of the high fire, which would see the liberation of the remaining hostages of Gaza, the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and a lasting peace. It is believed that Hamas has 24 live hostages and the bodies of another 35.
The militant group, who warned that suspending supplies would affect the hostages, said the last round of high the fire with Egyptian mediators without changes in their position.
Israel has said that he would send a delegation to Qatar on Monday in an effort to “advance” negotiations.
Israel had warned when it stopped all supplies that water and electricity could be the following. Israel’s Letter from the Energy Minister to the Israel Electric Corporation tells him to stop selling energy to Gaza.
The territory and its infrastructure have been largely devastated, and most facilities, including hospitals, now use generators. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassam said that Israel has practically “electricity since the war began and called the last decision part of the” star policy of Israel, without taking into account all international laws and standards. “
The desalination plant was providing 18,000 cubic meters of water per day for the area of Gaza de Gaza Al-Balah, according to Gisha, an Israeli organization dedicated to protecting the right of the Palestinians to freedom of movement. Executive director Tania Hary said that it is expected to be executed in generators and produce around 2,500 cubic meters per day, about the amount in an Olympic pool.
Israel’s restrictions on the fuel that enters Gaza has a greater impact, said Hary, and water scarcity is an imminent problem, because fuel is needed for distribution trucks.
Israel has faced strong criticism for suspending supplies.
“Any denial of the entry of life needs for civilians can be equivalent to collective punishment,” the UN Human Rights Office said Friday.
The International Criminal Court said there were reasons to believe that Israel had used “hunger as a method of war” when it issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year. The accusation is essential for the case of South Africa in the International Court of Justice that accuses Israel of genocide.
Israel has denied the accusations, saying that it has allowed enough help and blaming the shortage of what it called the inability of the United Nations to distribute it. He also accused Hamas of diverting help.
The leader of the Hutis rebels backed by Iran in Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, warned Friday that attacks against vessels linked to Israel in Yemen would resume in four days if the aid does not resume Gaza. The Hutis described their previous attacks as solidarity with the Palestinians there.
The Alto El Fuego has stopped the most deadly and destructive struggle between Israel and Hamas, caused by the attack led by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The first phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli forces have retired to damping areas within Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza and hundreds of aid trucks entered per day until Israel suspended the supplies.
USA
The White House on Wednesday made the surprise confirmation of the direct conversations of the United States with Hamas.
On Sunday, the envoy Adam Boehler told the Israeli station Kan that Hamas has suggested a truce of five to 10 years while disarming. The militant group has previously called unacceptable.
A senior Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss contacts with the United States, said the group had expressed its long -term position that it would leave its weapons in exchange for a “fair and fair solution” that includes an independent Palestinian state.
Boehler also told CNN that “I think you could see something like a long -term truce, where we forgive the prisoners, where Hamas goes to bed, where they agree that they are not part of the political party in the future. I think it is a reality. It is very close.”
When asked if he would talk to the militant group again, Boehler replied: “You never know.”
He added: “I think something could join in a few weeks” and expressed the hope of an agreement that would see all the released hostages, not just Americans. Boehler said that four of the five American hostages in Gaza are dead, with Edican Alexander Vivo.
Hamas on Sunday did not mention the conversations, but reiterated his support for a proposal for the establishment of an independent committee of technocrats to direct Gaza until the Palestinians have presidential and legislative elections.
Hamas’ attack in October 2023 killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, within Israel and took 251 people as hostages. Most have been published in high fire agreements or other agreements.
Many Israelis are pressing for a deal to take everyone home. “We are here to send a clear message to the Israeli government: stop stagnating,” said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of the hostages killed by Avraham Munder, in front of the stores established outside the Ministry of Defense of Israel in a demonstration.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not say how many dead were militants.
With the limit of supplies to Gaza, the Palestinians report strong price increases for the decrease of articles during the Sacred Muslim month of Ramadan.
“Since the ceasefire began, the situation has improved a bit. But before that, the situation was very bad, “said Fares Al-Qeisi in the southern city of Khan Younis.
