Israel warned of « later consequences » after the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, in a movement aimed at pressing Hamas to accept a new proposal to extend the Fragile cessation of fire.
« Israel will not allow a cessation of fire without the release of our hostages, » said a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. « If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be more consequences. »
Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the existing cessation of fire, and said that his decision to cut the aid was « cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack » in the truce. The two parts were stopped saying that the cessation of the fire was over.
Egypt, who served as a key mediator with the militant group, condemned Israel’s decision to stop the help, accusing -using « inanition as a weapon. »
Egyptian Foreign Minister Bad Abdelatty requested on Sunday the immediate implementation of the next phase of Israel-Hamas Cesseafire.
Hundreds of help trucks have entered Gaza daily from the The cessation of fire began on January 19And it was not clear what the immediate impact of the help cut would be.
Mohammed Arafat / AP
The first phase of the cessation of fire, which included an increase in humanitarian assistance for people in Gaza, expired on Saturday. The two parties have not yet negotiated the second phase, during which Hamas had to free dozens of The remaining Israeli hostages In exchange for an Israeli launch and a durable cessation.
Netanyahu said that, according to existing agreements, Israel could resume the fight after the first phase if he believed that the negotiations were ineffective. He said that the cessation of the fire would continue only if Hamas continued to release hostages, telling his cabinet that « there will be no free lunches ». He said that Israel was « completely coordinated » with the administration of President Trump.
There was no immediate comment from the United States about the proposal announced by Israel or his decision to cut the help.
At the same time, Israeli war planes intensified their activity on Gaza, conducting air attacks in the Khan Younis and Beit Hanoun areas, giving rise to victims of victims, reported the CBS News team in Gaza. Reports indicate that these attacks killed at least two people and injured others, including women and children.
The border crossroads in Gaza remain closed, aggravating the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Previous Sunday, Israel said a new proposal, which he said came from the mid -estve witkoff envoyHe requested that the cessation of fire be extended through Ramadan (the sacred Muslim month that began this weekend) and the Jewish Passover’s holidays, which end on April 20.
Abdel Kareem Hana / AP
According to this proposal, Hamas would release half of the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent cessation, according to Netanyahu’s office.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel was ready to negotiate during the next phase, but insisted that more hostages were released during the talks. He said that Israel had received a side letter from Biden’s administration saying that there was no automatic transition between the phases of the truce.
« We fulfilled all our commitments (under phase 1) until the last day, which was yesterday, » he told a press conference. « Our position is that during the negotiations, the hostages should be published. »
Hamas warned that any attempt to delay or cancel the cessation agreement would have « humanitarian consequences » for hostages, and reiterated that the only way to release them was the implementation of the existing agreement, which did not specify a calendar to release the remaining captives.
Hamas said he was willing to release hostages at the same time in phase 2, but only in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a ceasefire permanent fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
An Egyptian official said that Hamas and Egypt would not accept a new proposal aimed at returning the remaining hostages without ending the war. The officer said that the agreement had asked both sides to start negotiations on Phase 2 in early February.
The official, who was not authorized to inform the media and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the mediators were trying to resolve the dispute.
Leo Correa / AP
Under the first phase of six weeks of cessation of fire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for the release of about 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces retired from most of Gaza and Israel enabled an increase in humanitarian aid.
Israel imposed a complete siege on Gaza on the open days of the war and only relieved him after the pressure of the United States.
The war began when Hamas -led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and killed about 1,200 civilians, and took 251 hostages. Currently, the militants have 59 hostages, 32 of which are believed to be dead, after having released most of the rest in two cessation agreements.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. He says that more than half of the dead were women and children, but he does not specify how many of the dead were fighters.
The Israeli bombing and land operations struck large areas of the strip in the rubble and the height of the conflict displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians. The war has left most of the Gaza population depending on the international aid for food and other basic elements.
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