Hamas accused Israel of 'collective punishment' as blocking aid and electricity continues

Hamas on Wednesdsay condemned Israel's continuation of blocking humanitarian aid and cutting off of electricity and water supplies to Gaza.

"The continued power cuts in the Gaza Strip for more than 16 months constitute a war crime and pose the threat of a catastrophic water crisis in the region," the Palestinian group which has de facto control of Gaza said in a statement.

"The use of water and food as a weapon represents a dangerous escalation within a systematic effort to deepen the humanitarian disaster in Gaza."

The group accused the government of Benjamin Netanyahu breaching the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on 19 January, and of overseeing "an unprecedented crime of collective punishment against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip."