The Japan Times - Israel halts Gaza electricity supply ahead of new truce talks

Israel's decision comes a week after it blocked all aid supplies to the war-battered territory, a move reminiscent of the initial days of the war when Israel announced a "siege" on Gaza.

The truce's initial phase ended on March 1 and both sides have refrained from returning to all-out war, despite sporadic violence including an air strike Sunday that Israel said targeted militants.

Hamas has repeatedly called for an immediate start to negotiations on the ceasefire's second phase, which was negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, aiming to end the war permanently.

Israel says it prefers extending phase one until mid-April, and halted aid to Gaza over the impasse.

On Sunday it ordered a cut in the electricity supply.

"I have just signed the order to stop supplying electricity immediately to the Gaza Strip," Energy Minister Eli Cohen said in a video statement.

"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, he said.

Just days after the war erupted on October 7, 2023 after Hamas's attack, Israel cut electricity to Gaza, only restoring it in mid-2024.

The sole power line between Israel and Gaza supplies the main desalination plant, and Gazans mainly rely now on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.

Public Broadcaster Kan reported Monday Israel has drafted plans to ramp up pressure under a scheme dubbed the "Hell Plan". This included following up the aid block with "displacing residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, halting the supply of electricity and a resumption of full-scale fighting".

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians now live in tents across Gaza, with nighttime temperatures often falling to zero degrees Celsius.

Hamas representatives met mediators in Cairo over the weekend, emphasising the urgent need to resume aid deliveries "without restrictions or conditions", a Hamas statement said.

"We call on mediators in Egypt and Qatar, as well as the guarantors in the US administration, to ensure that the occupation complies with the agreement... and proceeds with the second phase according to the agreed-upon terms," spokesman Hazem Qassem, told AFP.

Hamas's key demands for the second phase include a hostage-prisoner exchange, Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, border crossings reopening and lifting the blockade, he said.

After meeting mediators, another Hamas spokesman, Abdel Latif al-Qanoua, said indicators were so far "positive".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday.

- 'Among dogs and rats' -

The truce largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, where virtually the entire population was displaced by Israel's relentless military campaign in response to the October 7 attack.

The six-week first phase led to the exchange of 25 living Israeli hostages and eight bodies for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

It also allowed in much-needed food, shelter and medical assistance.

After Israel cut off the aid flow, UN rights experts accused the government of "weaponising starvation".

"To date, only 10 percent of the required medical supplies have been allowed in, exacerbating the crisis," Gaza health ministry spokesman Khalil al-Dakran said.

Displaced Palestinian widow Haneen al-Dura told AFP she and her children spent weeks living on the street "among dogs and rats" before receiving a tent.

- Fears for hostages -

Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages were not released, issuing what he called a "last warning" to Hamas leaders.

He also alluded to repercussions for all Gazans, telling them: "A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!"

The threats came after his administration confirmed it had unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, which Washington had previously refused contact with since designating it a terrorist organisation in 1997.

Of the 251 hostages taken by the Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including five Americans of which four have been confirmed dead.

Trump has floated a widely condemned plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, and on Sunday Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that proposal was "taking shape".

Trump's plan prompted Arab leaders to offer an alternative that would see reconstruction financed through a trust fund, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority returning to govern Gaza.

Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,458 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.

T.Ikeda--JT