• Negotiators left for Doha to discuss truce: Israel
• Hamas accuses Israel of reneging on ceasefire deal

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 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 UN 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.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority (PA) yesterday said Israel's decision to halt the electricity supply to Gaza was "an escalation in the genocide" in the war-ravaged territory, reports AFP.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement that it "strongly condemns the Israeli Ministry of Energy's decision to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip, considering it an escalation in the genocide, displacement and humanitarian disaster in Gaza", which is controlled by Hamas and not the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

Israel's negotiating team left for Qatar yesterday for talks aimed at extending the fragile Gaza ceasefire.

Hamas accused Israel of reneging on the ceasefire deal, saying in a statement yesterday Israel "refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling".