Israel has halted the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza and threatened Hamas with more “consequences” if the Palestinian group does not agree to extend the now-ended phase one of their fragile ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that “the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted,” accusing Hamas of refusing to accept a framework for the continuation of talks proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages,” the statement said. “If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences.”
Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the existing ceasefire agreement and said its decision to cut off aid was “cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack” on the ceasefire, which took effect in January.
The first phase of the agreement ended on Saturday, but Israel is yet to move ahead with the second phase of the three-phase deal.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel has agreed to a proposal by Witkoff to extend the first phase of the ceasefire for six weeks during Ramadan – the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend – and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20.
Netanyahu said Israel could resume military operations in Gaza if negotiations prove to be “ineffective” during this period.
While Witkoff has not made his proposal public, Netanyahu said it would begin with the handing over of half of all remaining living and deceased captives. The rest of the captives would be handed over when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire.
Netanyahu says Hamas is currently holding 59 captives: 24 alive and 35 dead.
Hamas had earlier rejected Israel’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover and instead called for the second phase to unfold as originally agreed.
‘The ceasefire must hold’
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from southern Gaza, said Palestinians in the coastal enclave were “very stressed” by the prospect of a return to fighting.
“They feel that this ceasefire is very fragile,” she said. “There are Israeli jets and drones hovering in the sky, making Palestinians feel that at any minute, Israeli forces can target any place across the Gaza Strip.”
Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly said the ceasefire must continue if they are to provide much-needed aid to Palestinians in the coastal enclave, which has been devastated by the 17-month war.
“The impact of safe and sustained humanitarian access is evident,” the World Food Programme said in a post on X on Saturday. “The ceasefire must hold. There can be no going back.”
Hundreds of aid trucks have entered Gaza daily since the ceasefire began on January 19. But residents said prices doubled on Sunday as word of the closure spread and people raced to stock up.
“Everyone is worried,” said Sayed al-Dairi, a man living in Gaza City, told The Associated Press. “This is not a life.”
Fayza Nassar, a woman living in the heavily destroyed urban Jabalia refugee camp, said the closure would exacerbate already dire living conditions.
“There will be famine and chaos,” she told AP. “Closing the crossings is a heinous crime.”
Stephen Zunes, the director of Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco, says the US’s apparent proposal favouring Israel follows a well-established pattern seen since the beginning of the war.
“This is typical,” he told Al Jazeera. “Hamas and Israel will agree to something. Then Israel will try to revise it in its favour. Then the US will put forward a new proposal that is in Israel’s favour and then the US will blame Hamas for not accepting that proposal.”
Netanyahu’s refusal to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement has also been criticised in Israel, as hundreds of Israelis demonstrated outside the homes of several government ministers on Sunday to demand the completion of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
“Israel signed an agreement that was supposed to begin negotiations for the second phase on day 16 of the first phase. However, Israel has avoided these negotiations,” Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats Party, told the Israeli media outlet Maariv.
“Those who want to release the hostages need to understand a simple thing – we need to reach a long-term ceasefire and withdraw from most of Gaza. Netanyahu is constantly looking for ways to keep all Israeli citizens under extraordinary pressure and in a state of emergency, as it serves his political needs.”
