Gaza City, March 10 (RHC)-- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are facing heightened threats of thirst, disease and starvation after Israel’s energy minister abruptly shut off all electric power to Gaza.  

The blackout idled a wastewater treatment plant and drastically cut clean water output from Gaza’s only functioning desalination plant. 

The power cuts came on the eighth day of Israel’s renewed blockade of humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza. 

There were long lines at bakeries as people queued for hours just to receive a single piece of bread.  One resident, Abu Al-Abd Darwish, said: “There’s a siege on all of Gaza’s people, from all the borders.  As you can see, we’re waiting for our turn to get a bag of bread, all of these people waiting for a bag of bread.  This is our situation.  Gaza’s people need aid, our brothers.  There is a siege on all Gaza’s people.  We’re all alike now, the wealthy and the poor. Everyone is trying to get a bag of bread.”

Hamas condemned Israel’s shutoff of power as a “desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics.”

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi movement has issued an ultimatum to Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza — or face renewed attacks.  Before January’s ceasefire in Gaza, the Houthis launched more than 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as dozens of missile and drone attacks on Israel.

[ SOURCE: DEMOCRACY NOW ]