Energy Minister sets conditions
Blackout in Gaza will not end without the release of the hostages
October 12, 2023, 11:24 a.m
Not only have Israeli rockets been falling repeatedly in the sealed-off Gaza Strip since the beginning of the week, but there is also a lack of food, electricity and water. Israel’s Energy Minister Katz announced that this would only happen again when the hostages were free.
After the major Hamas attack, Israel’s energy minister linked the basic supplies of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip to the release of the Israeli hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. “No power switch will be flipped, no water tap will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages return home,” wrote Israel Katz on the platform X (formerly Twitter). Humanitarian gestures will only be given in return for humanitarian gestures. “And that no one preaches morality to us,” wrote Katz.
Last Saturday, terrorists carried out massacres on behalf of the Islamist organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, with more than 1,200 deaths in Israeli border towns and at a music festival. Around 150 people were abducted to the coastal strip and are being held hostage there. The hostages are Israelis, people with dual nationality and foreigners.
Israel then announced that it would seal off the Gaza Strip and stop Israeli electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip. Imports of fuel, food and drinking water were also stopped. The only power plant in the Gaza Strip had to be shut down on Wednesday due to a lack of fuel. However, the army also pointed out that Hamas itself had destroyed the crossings into the coastal area. Shortly afterwards, Egypt closed its only border crossing with the Gaza Strip due to Israeli fire.
Already 1,200 dead in Gaza
According to the UN, around 2.2 million people were already living in very poor conditions in the Gaza Strip before the new military conflict. Hamas, which is also classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and USA, seized sole power by force in 2007. Israel and Egypt then imposed a blockade on the coastal area.
Since the massacres, Israel has also responded with heavy air strikes on the Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 1,200 people were killed and around 5,800 others were injured.