Israel Cuts Off Electricity Supply to Gaza Strip to Pressure Hamas

Israel halted its already limited supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, a move the government called a response to the Hamas hostage crisis and which a liaison officer said would suspend production by a desalination plant in the war-wracked territory.

- Agencies

TEL AVIV:

A six-week Gaza truce, involving limited swaps of hostages for hundreds of Palestinians jailed by Israel, expired on March 2, with the sides divided on conditions for an open-ended suspension of hostilities.

Israel has since halted the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods to Gaza, and said more measures would be in store as long as the Palestinian faction balks at its core terms.

"I have just signed the order to stop supplying electricity immediately to the Gaza Strip," Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday.