Amid joint international efforts of allowing humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Israel Katz Thursday made it clear that the supply of water, fuel and electricity to the Hamas-controlled region will remain shut until hostages being held by Hamas militants are freed.
The Palestinian militant group had taken around 150 people, including children, women and young girls, hostages after the October 7 ground assault in Israel. Hamas has also threatened to kill the hostages one by one if Israel launched announced air strikes.
The United Nations has appealed Israel and Egypt to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, where hundreds of civilians, including women and children, are feared dead or injured in the Israeli air strikes. However, Israeli has refused to entertain any such demands and the minister stated that “no one will preach us morals”.
“Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home. Humanitarian for humanitarian. And no one will preach us morals,” he said in a tweet in Hebrew.
Earlier this week, Israel announced a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, cutting off water, food, fuel and electricity supply to the blockaded region on the southern border of Israel.
Following the October 7 attacks, in which over thousand civilians were brutally murdered, Israel declared a war against Hamas and launched an unprecedented counter offensive, including air strikes and artillery firing on militant hideouts in Gaza.
The Israeli Defence Forces have also sent over 300,000 reservists close to the Gaza border in order to launch a “given mission” that is likely to be a ground assault to free the hostage and “wipe out Hamas off the face of the Earth”.
According to reports, Qatar, Egypt and possibly other countries, including the USA are trying to negotiate a deal to release the hostages being held in Gaza.