March 19, 2025 (EIRNS)—Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan all condemned Israel’s March 9 decision to cut its supply of electricity to a water desalination plant in the Gaza Strip, calling for the international community to take action as Israel attempts to pressure Hamas into releasing captives held there. In a social media post on Sunday March 9, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said he had “cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately… Enough with the talk, it’s time for action!”
Gaza has suffered from electricity blackouts since Oct. 11, 2023, following the decision of then-energy Minister Israel Katz to cut off electricity supply through the Israeli Electric Corporation, which is paid for by the Palestinian Authority. This forced Gaza’s only power plant to shut down. However, on Nov. 14, 2024, the South Sea desalination plant became the only facility in Gaza to be reconnected to Israel’s electricity grid.
The March 9 decision to disconnect it will reduce its capacity to produce drinking water by 85%—from 18,000 cubic metres of drinking water per day to just 3,000—which will have devastating consequences for civilians in central and southern Gaza. The plant now depends entirely on some electricity generators and solar panels.
