Israel will immediately cut off the flow of electricity to Gaza, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen ordered Sunday. Critics blasted the measure as ineffective politicking.

An Israeli delegation will travel to the Gulf state of Qatar on Monday to hold talks on the continuation of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as Israel's electricity minister announced he was cutting deliveries to the enclave.

For Gazan teacher Abdullah Mortaja, Israel's decision to cut off electricity to the war-battered territory was "a joke", having already lived with little power supply since war began more than 16 months ago.