Omri Dostri, the spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated on Tuesday that Israel does not rule out cutting water and electricity to the Gaza Strip as a means of pressuring the Hamas movement.
اضافة اعلان
Dostri told Radio "94 FM" that "the longer Hamas refuses, the more leverage Israel will have." He clarified that Israel is coordinating "fully with the United States and wants to give an opportunity to bring back as many hostages as possible alive."
He added, "We have a series of measures to pressure Hamas, and at the same time, we are preparing militarily to return to fighting. We do not rule out the possibility of cutting water and electricity to Gaza."
Dostri also mentioned that Hamas "rejected the proposal of U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Wittekopf," which concerned extending the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchanges.
On Sunday, Hebrew media reported that Israel plans to begin implementing an escalation plan against Gaza within a week, including cutting electricity and water, carrying out targeted killings, re-displacing Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, and resuming the war.
Israel suspended the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday, amid local and human rights warnings about the return of Palestinians to the brink of famine.
Netanyahu, on Monday, commented on the ban of aid to Gaza: "We decided the day before yesterday (Saturday) to stop the entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip."
He threatened Hamas, saying that if they do not release the Israeli prisoners, "the consequences will be unimaginable," announcing preparation "with the support of President (Donald) Trump, for the next phases of the battle."
At midnight on Saturday/Sunday, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza officially ended, lasting 42 days, without Israel's agreement to enter the second phase and end the war.
Netanyahu seeks to extend the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal to release as many Israeli prisoners as possible in Gaza, without offering anything in return or fulfilling the military and humanitarian requirements that were imposed in the agreement over the past period, as a concession to extremists in his government.
Hamas, however, rejects this, insisting on compelling Israel to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement and calling for mediators to immediately begin negotiations for the second phase, which includes the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the complete cessation of the war.
With U.S. support, Israel has committed genocide in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and January 19, 2025, resulting in over 160,000 killed and wounded Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women, with over 14,000 missing.
On January 19, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect, which includes three phases, each lasting 42 days, with negotiations for the next phase to be held before completing the first phase, facilitated by Egypt and Qatar, with U.S. support.
Israel has turned Gaza into the world's largest prison, as it has been under siege since mid-2006. The ongoing genocide forced nearly two million of Gaza’s 2.4 million Palestinian residents to flee under tragic conditions, with severe shortages of food, water, and medicine deliberately imposed. -(Anadolu)
