A worker turns a valve at the Southern Gaza Desalination plant, which stopped working earlier after Israel cut off electricity supply to the Gaza Strip, in Deir el-Balah in the centre of the Palestinian territory. AFP
Israel announced on Sunday it was disconnecting the only power line to a water desalination plant in Gaza, to pressure Palestinian group Hamas into releasing captives amid an apparent impasse in truce talks.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry expressed "condemnation in the strongest terms of the Israeli occupation authorities' use of collective punishment against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by cutting off electricity to the area".
A Qatari foreign ministry statement said the Gulf state "strongly condemns the Israeli occupation's act of cutting electricity to the Gaza Strip, considering it a blatant violation of international humanitarian law".
Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah called the electricity cut "a clear continuation of the policy of starvation and siege imposed by Israel", about a week after Israeli authorities blocked the entry of aid into Gaza.
The United Nations has warned of "dire consequences" for Gaza's population, while Britain said it was "deeply concerned" by the Israeli move.
Saudi Arabia called on the international community to "take urgent actions immediately", while Qatar also urged "immediate action to provide the necessary protection for the Palestinian people".
Jordan's Qudah called on the world "to assume its legal and moral responsibilities, and oblige Israel to continue with the ceasefire agreement... restore electricity to Gaza" and reopen border crossings for aid deliveries.
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