Israel announced on Sunday it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza. It comes after it cut all supplies of goods to the crisis-ravaged Palestinian territory last week. The full effects were not immediately clear, but the arid territory's desalination plants receive power for producing drinking water. Israel last week cut of all supplies of good to the territory of over two million people, in an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of its war with Hamas. It seeks to press the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. That phase ended last weekend. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire's more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others. The militant group — which has warned that cutting off supplies to Gaza would affect the hostages as well — said Sunday it wrapped up the latest round of ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators without changes to its position, calling for an immediate start of the ceasefire's second phase. Israel had warned when it stopped all supplies that water and electricity could be next. The new letter from Israel's energy minister to the Israel Electric Corporation tells it to stop selling power to Gaza. The coastal territory and its infrastructure have been largely devastated by the war, and generators and solar panels are used for some of the power supply. The electricity cut also could affect water pumps and sanitation. Israel has faced sharp criticism over cutting off supplies to Gaza. "Any denial of the entry of the necessities of life for civilians may amount to collective punishment," the United Nations human rights office said Friday. The ceasefire has paused the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The first phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have withdrawn to buffer zones inside Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza for the first time since early in the war and hundreds of trucks of aid entered per day until Israel suspended supplies. The White House on Wednesday made the surprise confirmation of direct US talks with Hamas. On Sunday, envoy Adam Boehler told CNN that "I think you could see something like a long-term truce, where we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree they're not part of the political party going forward. "I think that's a reality. It's real close." When asked if he would speak with the militant group again, Boehler replied, "You never know." He added: "I think something could come together within weeks," and expressed hope for a deal that would see all hostages released, not only the American ones. Hamas on Sunday didn't mention its talks with the U.S., but reiterated its support for a proposal for the establishment of an independent committee of technocrats to run Gaza until Palestinians hold presidential and legislative elections. That committee would work "under the umbrella" of the Palestinian Authority, based in the occupied West Bank. Israel has rejected the PA having any role in Gaza, but hasn't put forward an alternative for postwar rule. Hamas' attack in October 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel, primarily civilians, and took 251 people hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many of the dead were militants. Now, with the cutoff of all supplies to Gaza, Palestinians are reporting sharp price increases for dwindling items as fears grow again, in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "Since the ceasefire began, the situation has improved a little. But before that, the situation was very bad," said Fares al-Qeisi in the southern city of Khan Younis. "I swear to God, one could not satisfy their hunger." — Euronews
