Palestinian Authority says Israel's Gaza electricity cut 'escalation in genocide'

By AFP - Mar 10,2025 - Last updated at Mar 10,2025

Palestinians walk in a devastated neighbourhood in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, ahead of the iftar fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 9, 2025 (AFP photo)

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories - The Palestinian Authority on Monday said Israel's decision to halt the electricity supply to Gaza was "an escalation in the genocide" in the war-ravaged 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", which is controlled by Hamas and not the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

Israel ordered an immediate halt to Gaza's electricity supply Sunday in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages, even as it prepared for fresh talks on the future of its truce with the Palestinian militants.

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.

Hamas described the electricity cut as "blackmail," a term it had also used after Israel blocked the aid.

"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.

Izzat Al Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, described Israel's move as "a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics".

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 Gazansmainly rely now on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza live in tents, with night-time temperatures now forecast around 12 degrees Celsius.