GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Hamas Movement said on Sunday that the Israeli forces have already cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip since the war began in October 2023.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem made the remarks in a statement in response to Israel’s earlier decision today to immediately halt the supply of electricity to Gaza.
“This behavior confirms the Israeli occupation’s insistence to continue its genocide war against Gaza, through its starvation policy, in clear disregard for all international laws and norms.”
Qassem called for “implementing the Arab summit’s recommendations to lift Gaza’s siege and the starvation campaign.”
Earlier Sunday, Israel ordered all of Gaza’s electricity supply to be cut off even though electricity supplies to the Strip have been effectively halted since the start of the war in October 2023.
Israeli energy minister Eli Cohen’s announcement came a week after Israel cut off all aid supplies to the territory, which has a population of more than two million people.
Israel’s 15-month-long war on the Gaza Strip has caused widespread destruction to infrastructure, severely affecting basic services in the coastal enclave.
Generators and solar panels are being used to supplement the power supply. However, according to the UN, Gaza has faced a “chronic electricity deficit” for more than a decade.
In 2022, Palestinians in Gaza received an average of just 12 hours of electricity per day, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The electricity crisis has significantly affected essential services, particularly the enclave’s water supply.
