‘Return the hostages!’ Israel cuts off Gaza electricity supply as tensions with Hamas flare over ceasefire
Israel has confirmed it is cutting the supply of electricity transmission to Gaza.
Energy Minister Eli Cohen has instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to cut off the supply to the heavily bombarded strip.
It comes just hours after Hamas told US officials it is open to releasing American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander as part of talks to end the war.
Cohen said in a video address: “We will employ all the tools available to us so that all the hostages will return, and we will ensure that Hamas won’t be in Gaza on the ‘day after,'”
Gaza has been largely devastated by the war, and generators and solar panels are used for some of the power supply in the enclave, where Hamas-run health authorities estimate that around 48,400 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the conflict.
The war started after the Islamist militant group carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,500 people and taking over 200 hostage.
Now, 17 months later, both Hamas and the Israeli Government are in dispute about the ceasefire deal, which requires the Islamist militant group which controls Gaza to release the 59 remaining hostages taken on October 7.
Hamas said this weekend, before Israel confirmed the power was switched off, there were “positive indicators” for talks on the second phase of the ceasefire.
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More to follow…