Join our Whatsapp channel
Israel’s move to cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip has generated criticism from foreign governments, Palestinian groups and human rights bodies.
Israel’s energy minister Eli Cohen on Sunday ordered the stoppage of electricity into the battered enclave. The decision came a week after Israel suspended aid deliveries into Gaza.
“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 conflict, he said.
Advertisements
Video Player is loading.
Play Video Play Loaded: 0.00%
0:00
Remaining Time - -:-
Unmute
Fullscreen
This is a modal window.
The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan TransparencyOpaqueSemi-Transparent Background Color BlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan TransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent Window Color BlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan TransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque
Font Size 50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400% Text Edge Style NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps
Reset restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window.
Advertisement
X
Here are some of the reactions from around the region and the world:
Hamas
Hamas on Monday accused Israel of “cheap and unacceptable blackmail” over its decision on Sunday to halt the electricity supply to Gaza in an effort to pressure the Palestinian group into releasing captives.
“We strongly condemn the occupation’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau said in a statement, adding it was “a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics”.
Palestinian Authority
Meanwhile, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called Israel’s decision to halt the electricity supply to Gaza “an escalation in the genocide” in the besieged territory.
The Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the Israeli Ministry of Energy’s decision to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip, considering it an escalation in the genocide, displacement and humanitarian disaster in Gaza”.
United Kingdom
The British government called on Israel to restore the electricity supply to Gaza, warning the country could violate international law.
“We’re deeply concerned by these reports and urge Israel to lift these restrictions,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters. “We’re clear that a halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza, including basic needs such as electricity, risks breaching Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.”
Germany
The German government said that Israel’s decision to halt aid deliveries and cut off the electricity supply to Gaza could prompt a fresh humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
Referring to the decision to stop aid, foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said Gaza was “again threatened with a food shortage” and that cutting off of electricity was “unacceptable and not compatible with [Israel’s] obligations under international law”.
UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese
UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory Francesa Albanese has said Israel’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza means “no functioning desalination stations, ergo: no clean water”.
In a post on X, she said, “genocide alert,” and added that countries that were yet to impose sanctions or an arms embargo on Israel were “aiding and assisting Israel in the commission of one of the most preventable genocides of our history”.