Israel says it has cut the flow of electricity to the last facility in Gaza that was still receiving power from the Israel Electric Corporation.

A power cut by Israel to the Gaza Strip will worsen a water crisis in the Palestinian enclave, a local official warned on Monday. Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza on Sunday, in the latest move to tighten a stifling blockade on the enclave despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

The UK has urged Israel to restore Gaza’s electricity supply, warning that failing to do so risked breaching international law. Israel announced it had cut off Gaza’s electricity supply on Sunday evening, a week after it suspended delivery of humanitarian supplies to the territory.

Gaza ceasefire negotiations are expected to continue in Qatar with Hamas pushing for Phase II, while Israel wants to extend Phase 1

The decision, announced by Israel’s energy minister, Eli Cohen, on Sunday, immediately halts the power supply to the Gaza Strip, exacerbating the ongoing humanitarian crisis and affecting essential services, including a desalination plant that provides drinking water to the population.

Palestinian officials say people in Gaza could soon run out of clean drinking water. After Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza this weekend, a desalination plant in Deir al-Balah has been running at about 30 per cent capacity on backup generators.