Israel's halt to food and aid deliveries worsens Gaza conditions

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel's suspension of goods entering Gaza has begun to take a toll on the Palestinian enclave, with some bakeries closing and officials warning of growing risks to the environment including possible discharges of raw sewage into the sea.

The suspension, intended to pressure militant group Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine and fuel imports. Hamas describes the measure as "collective punishment" and insists it will not be pushed into making concessions at the discussions.

The U.N. Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA said the decision to halt humanitarian aid threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 17 months of "brutal" war, adding that most of Gaza's 2.3 million people were dependent on aid. 

Nasser Al-Ajrami, head of the Gaza bakers' union, told Reuters that six out of the 22 bakeries still able to operate in the enclave had already shut after they ran out of cooking gas.

"The remaining bakeries may close down in a week or so should they run out of diesel or flour, unless the crossing is reopened to allow the goods to flow," he said.

"The 22 bakeries were not enough to meet the needs of the people, with six of them shutting down now, that would increase the demand for bread and worsen the condition," he added.

Israel last week blocked the entry of goods into the territory in a worsening standoff over a truce that has halted fighting for the past seven weeks.

The move has led to a hike in prices of essential foods as well as of fuel, forcing many to ration their meals.

Displaced from her destroyed house and living in a tent in Khan Younis, 40-year-old Ghada al-Rakab said she is struggling to secure basic needs. The mother of six bakes some goods for her family and neighbours, sometimes renting out a clay makeshift oven for a symbolic price.

"What kind of life are we living? No electricity, no water, no life, we don't even live a proper life. What else is left there in life? May God take us and give us rest," al-Rakab said.

'ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH RISKS'

In Israel's latest punitive measure, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday he had instructed the Israel Electric Corporation not to sell electricity to Gaza, in what he described as a means of pressure on Hamas to free hostages. 

The measure would have little immediate impact, as Israel already cut power supply to Gaza at the war's start. It would, however, affect a wastewater treatment plant presently supplied with power, according to the Israeli electricity company.

The Palestinian Water Authority said the decision suspended operations at a water desalination plant that produced 18,000 cubic meters of water per day for the population in central and southern areas of Gaza Strip.

Mohammad Thabet, the spokesperson of the Gaza power distribution plant, told Reuters the decision will deprive people in those areas of clean and healthy water, leaving them subject to "environmental and health risks."

"The decision is catastrophic, municipalities now will be obliged to let sewage water stream into the sea, which may result in environmental and health risks that go beyond the boundaries of Gaza," said Thabet.

He said there was not enough fuel to operate stand-by generators in desalination and sewage plants, adding that the existing generators were outdated and hardly functional.

MEDIATORS TRY TO SALVAGE TRUCE 

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

But the truce's initial 42-day stage has expired and Hamas and Israel remain far apart on broader issues including the postwar governance of Gaza and the future of Hamas itself.

Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, and the U.S. are trying to salvage the ceasefire deal. They held talks with Hamas leaders and are set to receive Israeli negotiators in Doha on Monday.

Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua told Reuters on Monday the group was committed to the original phased agreement and expected mediators to "compel" Israel to begin talks on implementing the second phase of the deal. Phase two is intended to focus on agreements on the release of remaining hostages and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Israel demands Hamas free the remaining hostages without beginning phase two negotiations.

Qanoua said humanitarian sanctions would also affect hostages in the group's custody as well as Gazans.

"It (Israel) will not free them (hostages) except through negotiation," said Qanoua.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Hatem Khaled in Gaza and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Editing by William Maclean)