The Independent’s Bel Trew reporting from Israel-Gaza border
The Israeli government has said there will be no electricity, fuel or water for those in the besieged Gaza Strip until all its hostages are freed.
“Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be lifted, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz posted on X on Thursday.
The United Nations has warned of an unfolding “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Strip – which Israel has sealed off – while the Red Cross has pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from “turning into morgues”.
It comes as hundreds of thousands of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops have amassed at the border of the enclave, poised for a ground invasion of Gaza, with an Israeli military spokesman saying on Thursday they “are preparing for a ground maneuver if decided”.
Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel. The death toll in the Strip rose to 1,200 early Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel.
