Israel warned against the “other consequences” after having stopped the entry of all the goods and supplies in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, in a movement aimed at putting Hamas to accept a new proposal to extend the fragile cease.
“Israel will not allow a cease-fire without the release of our hostages,” said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be other consequences.”
Hamas accused Israel of having tried to derail the existing ceasefire agreement and declared that its decision to cut the aid was “a cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack” against the break. The two parties did not stop saying that the ceasefire was over.
Egypt, which was a key mediator with the militant group, condemned Israel’s decision to stop aid, accusing it of using “famine as a weapon”.
Sunday, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdeatty called on Sunday to the immediate implementation of the next phase of the ceasefire of Israel-Hamas.
Hundreds of aid trucks have entered Gaza daily since the The ceasefire started on January 19And we did not know what the immediate impact of the help cut.
Mohammed Arafat / AP
The first phase of the ceasefire, which included an increase in humanitarian assistance for the inhabitants of Gaza, expired on Saturday. The two parties have not yet negotiated the second phase, during which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining Israeli hostages In exchange for an Israeli judgment and a lasting ceasefire.
Netanyahu said that by virtue of existing agreements, Israel could resume the fighting after the first phase if he thought that the negotiations were ineffective. He said that the ceasefire would only continue if Hamas continued to release hostages, telling his office that “there will be no free lunches”. He said that Israel was “fully coordinated” with President Trump’s administration.
There was no immediate comment from the United States on the proposal announced by Israel or its decision to cut the aid.
At the same time, Israeli war planes have intensified their activity on Gaza, performing air strikes in the regions of Khan Younis and Beit Hanoun, causing victims, the CBS News team in Gaza reported. The reports indicate that these attacks killed at least two people and injured others, including women and children.
Border passages in Gaza remain closed, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier Sunday, Israel said a new proposal, which said came from us the envoy of the Middle East Steve Witkoffcalled to prolong the ceasefire through Ramadan-the sacred Muslim month that started during the weekend-and the Jewish holidays of Passover, which ends on April 20.
Abdel Kareem Hana / AP
Under this proposal, Hamas would release half of the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is concluded on a permanent cease-fire, according to the Netanyahu office.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel was ready to negotiate during the next phase, but insisted on the release of more hostages during talks. He said that Israel had received a side letter from the Biden administration saying that there was no automatic transition between the truce phases.
“We have completed all our commitments (under phase 1) until the very last day, which was yesterday,” he said at a press conference. “Our position is that during negotiations, the hostages should be published.”
Hamas warned that any attempt to delay or cancel the cease-fire agreement would have “humanitarian consequences” for hostages and would have reiterated that the only way to release them was to implement the existing agreement, which did not specify a calendar to release the remaining captives.
Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages both in phase 2, but only in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
An Egyptian official said Hamas and Egypt would not accept a new proposal to return the remaining hostages without ending the war. The official noted that the agreement had called both parties to start negotiations during phase 2 in early February.
The manager, who was not allowed in short the media and spoke under the cover of anonymity, said the mediators were trying to resolve the dispute.
Leo Correa / AP
In the first phase of six weeks of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces have withdrawn from most of Gaza and Israel has enabled a wave of humanitarian aid to enter.
Israel imposed a complete seat in Gaza in the first days of the war and only attenuated it than under American pressure.
The war began when terrorists led by Hamas burst into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians and taking 251 hostages. Activists currently have 59 hostages, 32 of which are considered dead, after having released most of the other ceasefire agreements.
Israel’s offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. He says that more than half of the people killed were women and children, but does not specify how many deaths were fighters.
Israeli bombings and ground operations beat large areas of the gang with rubble and at the height of the displaced conflict about 90% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians. The war has left most of the Gaza population dependent on international food aid and other essential elements.
