A by Israel began to affect the Palestinian enclave, with the closure of some bakeries and the warning of the authorities about increasing risks to the environment, including possible crude sewage discharges in the sea.
The suspension, designed to press the Hamas militant group in ceasefire negotiations, applies to food, medicine and fuel imports. Hamas describes the measure as “collective punishment” and insists that it will not be forced to make concessions in the discussions.
UN UN Agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said the decision to suspend humanitarian aid threatens the life of exhausted civilians for 17 months of “brutal” war, adding that most of the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza depends on help.
Nasser al-Ajrami, head of the Gaza Bakers Union, told Reuters that six of the 22 bakeries that can still work at the enclave have already closed after running out of cooking.
“The remaining bakeries can close in a week or more if they are without diesel or flour unless the passage is reopened to allow the flow of goods,” he said.
“The 22 bakeries were not enough to meet the needs of the population, with six of them closing now, will increase the demand for bread and make the situation worse,” he added.
Last week, Israel blocked the entry of goods into the territory in an increasing impasse on a truce that interrupted fighting in the last seven weeks.
The measure has led to an increase in prices of essential food and fuel, forcing many people to ration their meals.
Leaved from his destroyed house and living in a tent in Khan Youis, Ghada Al-Rakab, 40, said he was struggling to ensure his basic needs. The mother of six children cooks some family products and neighbors, sometimes renting a makeshift mud oven at a symbolic price.
“What kind of life are we living? Without electricity, without water, no life, we do not even live a proper life. What else does it remain in life? May God take us and give us rest, ”said Ghada Al-Rakab.
In Israel’s latest punitive measure, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that he had instructed Israel Electric Corporation not to sell electricity to Gaza, in what he described as a means of pressure on Hamas to release hostages.
The measure would have little immediate impact, as Israel has already cut into the energy supply to Gaza at the beginning of the war. However, it would affect a wastewater treatment plant currently supplied with energy, according to the Israeli electricity company.
The Palestinian Water Authority said the decision suspended operations at a water desalination plant that produced 18,000 cubic meters of water per day for the central and southern Gaza range.
Mohammad Thabet, spokesman for the Gaza energy distribution plant, told Reuters that the decision will deprive people in these areas of clean and healthy water, leaving them subject to “environmental and health risks”.
“The decision is catastrophic, the municipalities will now be required to let sewage water flow into the sea, which can result in environmental and health risks that go beyond Gaza limits,” said Thabet.
