The Age / New York Times| 11 March 2025
Another illegal, immoral and evil action by a Government that has lost all moral authority – Mark
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said he was immediately cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip, a move that may have limited impact in Gaza, given restrictions already in place, but that comes as Israel tries to pressure Hamas amid talks over their fragile truce.
“We will employ all the tools at our disposal so that all the hostages are returned, and we will ensure that Hamas does not remain in Gaza in the ‘day after’,” Cohen said in a statement about his decision.
Both the fate of the approximately five dozen living and dead hostages remaining in Gaza and the enclave’s future governance are major sticking points in the ceasefire talks. Israel is insisting that Hamas can play no role in Gaza’s future; Hamas has said it may be willing to give up civilian governance, but has firmly rejected dissolving its military wing.
Cohen’s announcement came as negotiators and mediators prepared to discuss the cease f ire this week in Qatar. It follows Israel’s decision this month to cut off humanitarian aid and supplies to Gaza after the first stage of the original met in recent days with Egyptian mediators. phased ceasefire expired.
How meaningful the latest pressure on Hamas will be is unclear, given the severe re strictions that have already been placed on electricity supply to Gaza since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the war in the Palestinian enclave, and in light of Palestinians’ longstanding reliance on alternative energy supplies because of prewar restrictions.
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