Israel reneges on ceasefire deal with Hamas and imposes humanitarian blockade on Gaza
Gaza City, Gaza - Israel said Sunday that it was suspending the entry of supplies into Gaza and resumed attacks on the territory, reneging on its ceasefire deal with Hamas by refusing to progress to the next phase.
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As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel insisted on an extension it said was put forward by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead demanded a transition to the truce deal's second phase, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in Gaza.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended," his office said in a statement.
"Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences," it added.
Hamas slammed the move, saying in a statement that the "decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement."
Intentionally blocking humanitarian aid to a territory during armed conflict is a war crime under international law.
The suspension of aid comes as Palestinians in Gaza – already subjected by Israel to conditions of famine for some 15 months – mark the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful observe a dawn-to-dusk fast.
Israel resumes killing in Gaza
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Gaza's civil defense agency, meanwhile, reported that "artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks" targeted areas east of Khan Yunis city, in the southern Gaza Strip.
At least four people were reportedly killed.
According to the Israeli statement, the truce extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas called on "mediators and the international community to pressure" Israel to "put an end to these punitive, immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip."
Its spokesman Hazem Qassem later said Israel "bears responsibility for the consequences of its decision on the people of the Strip and the fate of its prisoners."
A senior Hamas official had earlier told AFP the group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase.
Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said Sunday that proceeding to the second phase was "the only way to achieve stability in the region and the return" of the hostages.
Under the first phase, Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight others, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian captives.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was using "emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance" to Israel.
Cover photo: AFP