JERUSALEM, MAR 10 (AFP/APP/DNA):Israel is due to send a delegation to Doha on Monday for a fresh round of talks on extending a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, after cutting off the electricity supply to ramp up pressure on Hamas.
The first phase of the truce ended on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that could secure a permanent end to the war, but both sides have since refrained from resuming full-scale fighting.
There are still significant differences over the terms of a potential second phase of the truce, which has largely halted the violence that raged since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Hamas has repeatedly called for immediate negotiations on the next phase, while Israel prefers an extension of the current one.
Israel has halted aid deliveries to Gaza amid the deadlock, and on Sunday announced it was cutting off the electricity supply in a bid to force Hamas to release hostages.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after” the war, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said as he ordered the power cut.
The move echoed the early days of the war when Israel announced a “siege” on Gaza, severing the electricity supply which was only restored in mid-2024.
The sole power line between Israel and Gaza supplies the Palestinian territory’s main desalination plant, and Gazans now mainly rely on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now living in tents across Gaza, where temperatures reach a low of about 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit) at night.
Top Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said the Israeli decision “to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water” was a “desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance”.
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