Israel says it is cutting off electricity to more than 2 million people in Gaza

• Israel announced that it will be cutting off electricity to more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza. It’s the latest in a series of moves meant to pressure Hamas into extending the first phase of a ceasefire agreement.
• While the full ramifications of cutting off electricity to Gaza remain unclear, the territory’s desalination plants do rely on Israeli power to produce drinking water.
• Both sides are currently trying to negotiate the start of the ceasefire’s second phase after the first phase ended March 1.

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Israel said Sunday, March 9, that it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza, one week after the country announced it would cut off humanitarian aid to the territory of more than 2 million people. It’s just the latest in a series of moves meant to pressure Hamas into extending the first phase of a ceasefire agreement that began Jan. 19.

According to the Associated Press, the ramifications of cutting off electricity to Gaza remain unclear. However, the news agency notes that the territory’s desalination plants rely on Israeli power to produce drinking water.

Israel’s energy minister reportedly sent a letter to the Israel Electric Corporation, instructing it to stop selling power to Gaza. The territory has been ravaged by the war and depends on generators and solar panels to supplement some of its power supply.  

Last week, the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended. During that time, Hamas released 25 hostages, along with the remains of eight others. Nearly 2,500 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange.

Now, Hamas wants to begin negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire, during which Hamas is expected to release half of its remaining hostages while Israel commits to hammering out a lasting truce between the two sides. Israel believes there are 24 hostages still living in Gaza.

On Sunday, Hamas said it had concluded its latest round of talks with Egyptian mediators. However, the militant group did not alter its demands and called for an immediate start to the ceasefire’s second phase, AP reports.

The second phase of the ceasefire was supposed to begin March 2.

January’s ceasefire between Hamas and Israel marked the first period of respite since the two sides began fighting following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, Hamas has retaken control of Gaza while the Israeli Defense Forces have withdrawn from parts of the region, allowing displaced Palestinians to return. Meanwhile, Israel ramped up its operations in the West Bank, moving tanks in for the first time in two decades and telling some 40,000 Palestinians not to return to the area.

Though it has largely held, the ceasefire has been tenuous at best, with both sides accusing one another of breaking its terms and delaying key moments in the process.