Israel announces halt to electricity supply to Gaza in move to increase pressure on Hamas

Energy Minister Eli Cohen signed an order today, Sunday, ordering the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to stop the transmission of electricity to the Gaza Strip. 

The move will not have an immediate effect, as Israel currently only supplies electricity to support the enclave’s desalination plant, with most of the electricity being supplied by fuel or generators. However, with Israel blocking the supply of fuel to Gaza as part of the hold on humanitarian aid, eventually fuel reserves in the Strip will dwindle, leading to a loss of electricity throughout most of the enclave. 

The decision by Cohen came after consultation with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). 

“We will employ all the tools available to us so that all the hostages will return, and we will ensure that Hamas won’t be in Gaza on the ‘day after,'” Cohen said in a video statement after signing the order. 

חתמתי כעת על צו להפסקת החשמל לרצועת עזה באופן מיידי.

מספיק עם דיבורים, הגיע הזמן למעשים! pic.twitter.com/dV2wrMrnHI

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) March 9, 2025

The decision is believed to be part of a multi-step effort to increase pressure on Hamas to agree to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire extension during the Ramadan and Passover period, proposed by President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israel agreed to the proposal, while Hamas refused the proposal and called to move into immediate negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. 

The first step of the effort is the halting of humanitarian aid, which Israel implemented last week. The next stage, which it appears to be implementing today, is the cessation of electricity to the Gaza Strip. 

If Hamas fails to respond to these steps, the next phase appears to be calling on the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate to the south ahead of a renewed military campaign. If talks fail, the IDF is prepared to resume fighting, and according to a report over the weekend in the Wall Street Journal, it would return to Gaza with a much larger military force than it has deployed so far. 

The move also comes after Trump issued another ultimatum to Hamas last week after meeting with former Israeli hostages. 

“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye – You can choose,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting. “Release all of the hostages now – not later – and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you.” 

Last week, the U.S. also announced that it had been in secret direct talks with Hamas over the release of the remaining living American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander. 

Reports earlier Sunday, said that those talks, being managed by Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler, had fallen through. 

Trump has previously said he would support an Israeli decision to return to fighting.