Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the siege of Gaza will not end until Israeli hostages are released.
In a social media post, Israel Katz said no “electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter” until the “abductees” are free.
“Humanitarianism for humanitarianism. And no one will preach us morality,” he added.
Israel stopped supplies to the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attacks on Saturday.
Palestinian health officials say 1,200 people have died in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. The Israeli toll in the Hamas weekend attack is also 1,200. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is holding at least 150 hostages in Gaza.
Human misery in Gaza following Israel’s siege
Hospitals in Gaza risk turning into morgues as they lose power, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.
The Gaza Strip’s only power station stopped working on Wednesday due to fuel shortages. It means Gaza, including hospitals, is relying on generators, which in turn need fresh supplies of fuel.
🇵🇸🇮🇱 Journalist shows the destruction in Gaza.
“It feels like an earthquake hit this area.”
— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) October 12, 2023
Most of Gaza’s electricity supply came from Israel, which cut off power to the area after the Hamas attack.
“The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore [both] sides to reduce the suffering of civilians,” the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East, Fabrizio Carboni, says.
“As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can’t be taken,” he added.
Life in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/CfbaBws6sT
— Muhammad Smiry 🇵🇸 (@MuhammadSmiry) October 12, 2023
Hamas’ Threats to Kill Israeli Hostages
On Monday, Hamas issued a threat, vowing to execute hostages if Israel launched airstrikes in the Gaza Strip without prior warnings to residents.
The Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, warned they would begin executing Israeli civilian captives in retaliation for any Israeli bombings of civilian homes without pre-warning.
In response, Israel ordered a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, retaliating for the largest and deadliest incursion into its territory in decades.
The United States began delivering essential munitions and military equipment to Israel as the conflict escalated. Additionally, President Joe Biden confirmed the loss of at least eleven American citizens in the recent violence, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
Diplomacy to avert catastrophe in the Middle East
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, landed in Israel in a few hours to show solidarity with the country. He will also meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian authorities say.
The Palestinian political leadership is deeply divided between Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party in the West Bank and its Islamist militant Hamas opponents, who control the Gaza Strip.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reportedly engaged in negotiations with Hamas, aiming to secure the release of around 150 Israeli hostages.
Turkish news site Haberturk disclosed that Erdogan has directed talks for releasing the hostages and has been actively involved in efforts to prevent the situation from escalating.
Despite a recent rapprochement with Israel, Erdogan remains broadly supportive of Hamas and has avoided criticizing the group over its massacre of 1,200 Israelis, including hundreds of civilians, according to The Times of Israel.
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