As Truce Stalls, Israel Halts Power to Gaza Desalination Plant
Israel has stopped supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip, officials confirmed on Sunday, effectively taking offline a key desalination plant responsible for providing drinking water to part of the densely populated coastal enclave. Hamas swiftly denounced the move as part of Israel’s “starvation policy.”
The cutoff follows last week’s suspension of goods into the territory of over two million Palestinians—a reimposition of Israel’s siege tactics at the onset of the war. Although Israel had initially threatened to halt water and electricity supplies as well, the final decision to pull electricity is likely to deepen an already severe humanitarian crisis, with shortages of clean water, medical supplies, and other essentials becoming increasingly dire.
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At the core of the latest standoff is Israel’s push to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal that expired last weekend. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in Gaza in return for promising to negotiate a broader truce. Yet Hamas, believed to be holding 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others, insists on moving directly to the ceasefire’s second phase—one that includes the release of all captives, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and a more comprehensive, lasting peace.
The halted electricity supply quickly disrupted operations at a desalination plant in Deir al-Balah, which typically provides up to 18,000 cubic meters of water daily. Tania Hary, executive director of the Israeli rights group Gisha, estimates that the facility will now only be able to produce about 2,500 cubic meters per day via generators—a fraction of what is needed for residents. Hary added that constrained fuel supplies in Gaza loom as an even bigger challenge, since electricity, water distribution, and hospital operations rely heavily on fuel-powered generators.
