The Palestinian Hamas movement called the decision of the Israeli authorities to cut off the electricity supply to the Gaza enclave a "gross violation" of the ceasefire agreement, said the representative of the radicals, Izzat al-Rishk.
“Israel's latest actions constitute a gross violation of all signed agreements and international law and prove once again that the other side is not fulfilling its part of the agreements“, said a message published on behalf of al-Rishk on Hamas's official Telegram channel.
According to him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is seeking to delay the implementation of the agreement" for Gaza and is trying to "impose on all parties a new plan that only suits its own interests".
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli state TV Kan reported that the Jewish state's Energy Minister Eli Cohen had ordered a shutdown of electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip. Kan noted that Israel had been supplying electricity to Gaza to run a seawater desalination plant in the central part of the enclave, but most of Gaza's electricity is generated by generators, the fuel for which has not been delivered to the Gaza Strip for a week.
In mid-January, Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, agreed to implement a ceasefire that came into effect on January 19. The first stage of the agreement's implementation ended on March 1, during which 33 hostages were returned to the Jewish state within 42 days. In exchange, Israel released over 1,500 Palestinians from prison, some of whom were expelled from the Palestinian territories.
On March 2, Israel blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and closed all crossings in connection with Hamas's refusal to accept the plan of US presidential envoy Stephen Witkoff to continue ceasefire negotiations in the enclave.
The State Department will cancel entry visas and green cards for supporters of the Palestinian Hamas movement with a view to their subsequent deportation. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the social network X.
„We will cancel the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so that they can be deported“, the head of US diplomacy emphasized.
He commented on the information that US immigration authorities had arrested Palestinian Mahmoud Khalil, who played a prominent role in anti-Israel protests last spring at Columbia University in New York. As noted by US media, he had a student visa and green card, which will be canceled.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump promised that the US would expel foreign students and other non-US citizens who participated in protests in support of Palestine. In 2024, a wave of pro-Palestinian protests swept American university campuses with arrests and clashes with police and pro-Israel demonstrators. The protesters' main demand for the US authorities was to stop financial support for Israel.