Israel considering cutting electricity to Gaza, evacuating Gazans, resuming war – report

Author: Published: March 3, 2025
Israeli government mulling plans to pressure Hamas to resume hostage releases, including cutting electricity transfers to the Gaza Strip, resuming war on Hamas, and evacuating Gazans from the northern Gaza Strip.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israel’s government is considering a number of measures to pressure Hamas into releasing additional hostages, the Israeli national broadcaster Kan reported Sunday night, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas lapsed over the weekend.

On Sunday, the first phase of the January 19th ceasefire ended, with no agreement on either a continuation of the existing hostages-for-truce arrangement or implementation of the second phase of the hostage deal.

While Israel embraced an American proposal to extend the truce through the Ramadan and Passover holidays, ending on April 19th, in exchange for the release of all remaining hostages in two transfers, Hamas has insisted Israel negotiate the full withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Sunday that the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip be halted until Hamas agrees to resume the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Later that day, Israeli media outlets reported that Jerusalem has drafted a plan to pressure Hamas into resuming the hostage releases.

  WATCH: Gaza terrorists release propaganda video of hostage transfer

According to Channel 14, Energy Minister Eli Cohen (Likud) is set to formally propose to the Israeli cabinet that Israel cut off Gaza from Israel’s electric grid.

Following the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7th, Israel cut Gaza off from its electric grid, leaving the coastal enclave reliant on electric generators, leading to rolling blackouts.

Last July, however, Israel resumed the transfer of electricity to parts of the Gaza Strip, powering a number of public facilities, including water treatment plants and desalination operations.

Should Israel adopt Cohen’s plan, it could potentially leave Gaza with total blackouts, once the current supply of fuel has been exhausted.

Kan reported that in addition to cutting off Gaza from the electric grid, Jerusalem is considering evacuating the northern Gaza Strip once again, sealing off the area and relocating residents to the Khan Yunis and Rafah districts.

Furthermore, Israel is mulling resuming hostilities in the Gaza Strip within a week, including the use of heavy air munitions barred by the Biden administration.

Report: Gazan terror groups raise level of readiness due to fear of Israeli attack

Author: Published: March 3, 2025

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the terror groups in Gaza have decided to raise the level of readiness among their fighters due to a fear of an imminent Israeli attack.

According to sources in the terror organizations, instructions were issued to the groups tasked with securing the Israeli prisoners to tighten procedures and return to the instructions previously in effect before the first phase of the agreement came into effect.

Egypt to present Gaza reconstruction plan at emergency Arab summit in Cairo

Author: Published: March 3, 2025

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says Egypt’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, which seeks to counter Trump’s Gaza plan, will be presented at an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday.

Elad Benari

 

Qatari aid truck on Gaza-Egypt border

Qatari aid truck on Gaza-Egypt borderAtia Mohammed/Flash 90

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced on Sunday that Egypt’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, which ensures that Palestinian Arabs remain on their land, is ready and will be presented at an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Abdelatty emphasized that Egypt would seek international support and funding for the reconstruction plan, with Europe playing a pivotal role, particularly in financing the reconstruction of Gaza.

“We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit,” he said during a press conference with EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, as quoted by Reuters.

Abdelatty added that following Tuesday’s summit, the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states would convene for an urgent meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the best way to present the plans to the international community.

“We will ensure that the results of the Arab summit are presented to the world in the best possible way,” he concluded.

The Egyptian proposal is meant to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to assume control of Gaza and resettle its residents in neighboring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan. Arab countries were quick to reject Trump’s proposal.

The Egyptian state-run Al-Ahram newspaper last week provided some details on the Egyptian plan to reconstruct the Gaza Strip without relocating its residents to other countries.

The report said that the plan will temporarily relocate Gazans to “secure areas” in the strip while Egyptian and other foreign construction firms rebuild Gaza.

The Associated Press cited two Egyptian officials who noted that the plan envisions the creation of a “Palestinian administration,” unaligned with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, to run the Strip and oversee reconstruction efforts.

The new administration would include a police force mostly consisting of former Palestinian Authority policemen who remained in Gaza after Hamas took over the Strip in 2007, with reinforcement from Egyptian- and Western-trained forces.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently stated that the United States is open to hearing new proposals from Arab nations regarding Gaza.

“Hopefully they’re going to have a really good plan to present the president,” Rubio said, referring to Arab nations.

“Right now the only plan — they don’t like it — but the only plan is the Trump plan. So if they’ve got a better plan, now’s the time to present it,” he told conservative radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

“All these countries say how much they care about the Palestinians, but none of them want to take any Palestinians. None of them have a history of doing anything for Gaza,” Rubio added.

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