Water and electricity cuts; Zionists' new crime in Gaza

The Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen issued an order to immediately cut off the electricity supply to Gaza; this measure will exacerbate the operation of Gaza’s desalination plants amid the ongoing shortage of aid during the holy month of Ramadan.

Cohen said in a message that he had signed the order to immediately cut off the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip. He stated: “Enough talk, it’s time for action.”

The statement by the Israeli Energy Minister was published about a week after the occupation regime prevented all humanitarian goods from entering Gaza after ignoring the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas accused the Israeli regime of unacceptable blackmail due to its decision to cut off the electricity supply to Gaza.

A member of the Hamas political bureau said in a statement: “We strongly condemn the occupation’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza after depriving the people of food, medicine and water. This desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through blackmail tactics was unacceptable.”

Aid groups and human rights activists have accused the Israeli regime of committing crimes against humanity and violating international humanitarian law by cutting off aid.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent from Gaza City reported that despite the end of the devastating airstrikes on Gaza, civilians are still suffering from more than a week of siege.

The reporter stated that the situation in Gaza remains catastrophic, saying: Food, water and electricity, all aspects of Palestinian life are affected by Israel's actions.

The director of a human rights group condemned the Zionist regime's decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, calling it a war crime.

Referring to the statement of the occupying regime's Minister of Energy, he said: Cutting off electricity used for civilian purposes such as water desalination, as Cohen says, is not the use of tools at Israel's disposal, but a crime at Israel's disposal.

The director of the human rights group also said that the Gaza desalination plant supplies 18,000 cubic meters of water per day, but now has to rely on generators, meaning it can only process about 2,500 cubic meters per day; this is approximately the amount of water in an Olympic swimming pool.

Following this criminal act, "Mohammed Thabit", the media director of the Gaza Electricity Company, announced that the occupation regime has completely cut off 10 main electricity supply lines to the region since the beginning of the genocidal war against the Gaza Strip.

Mohammed Thabit emphasized that this criminal act of the Zionist enemy in cutting off the electricity supply to Gaza will lead to a major health and environmental disaster. 70% of the electricity distribution networks in Gaza have been destroyed, 90% of the warehouses and storage centers of the Electricity Distribution Company have been destroyed, and 80% of its equipment has been destroyed.

He added: "There are plans to repair and reconstruct the electricity lines, but this process depends on the supply of equipment and electricity distributors, but so far none of the necessary and emergency equipment that we requested has entered Gaza."

This official in the Gaza Strip further warned: "The electricity cut will lead to the cessation of people's lives, and we need small generators to start water wells. We call for immediate intervention by the international community to prevent the complete collapse of vital sectors due to the continued power outage in the Gaza Strip. "