Israel halts aid to Gaza as Hamas rejects revised ceasefire proposal

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Israel suspended all humanitarian aid to Gaza after the armed group refused a revised proposal to extend the ceasefire, which was launched early on Sunday and condemned the recent plan in the name of “manipulation”.

The conflict in Gaza was stopped for 42 days, after the two warring parties agreed to the first ceasefire in January through Egyptian and Qatari mediation.

In recent days, Israel and Hamas exchanged mutual accusations due to violations of the deal, and they failed to agree to extend the truce to a second stage that should have ended the war and secured the launch of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Sunday that Israel agreed to a proposal claiming to be formulated by the American Special Envoy Steve Whitchov, who would have extended the ceasefire for another six weeks, during the Islamic holiday in Ramadan and the Jewish Easter.

The proposal to Hamas calls for the release of its remaining half hostages, about 30 people, on the first day of the deal where the two sides begin talks about the “permanent ceasefire”, according to Netanyahu’s office. Hamas is then committed to launching all the remaining hostages, “in the end. If an agreement is reached,” the Israeli team said.

It is still unclear whether Israel Witskouf and the administration of US President Donald Trump is behind the proposal made by Israel, although analysts believe that such an Israeli statement and cutting in aid to Gaza are likely to be inverted with Washington.

Mahmoud Mardawi, Hamas spokesman, refused to propose immediately and said Israel, “Repeated and repeatedly on the agreements signed and still evading the implementation of its obligations.”

Mardawi reiterated the group’s position that the second stage of the ceasefire – to include the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which is a permanent end of the war, and the rebuilding of shattered lands – must be agreed upon before issuing any additional hostages.

“This continuous manipulation will not be repeated [hostages] For their families, but on the contrary, they will continue their suffering and endanger their lives. “

In response, Israel announced that “all the entry of goods and supplies in the Gaza Strip will stop,” according to Netanyahu, who added: “Israel will not allow the ceasefire without firing our hostages. If Hamas continues to refuse, there will be other consequences.”

Hamas described in the decision as “cheap blackmail, war crime, and a blatant cancellation of the agreement” and called on international mediators to pressure Israel to reflect this step.

Over the course of six weeks, Hamas, which was launched six weeks, released 33 Israeli hostages, then eight of them are no longer alive, along with five Thai foreign workers. Israel, in turn, launched more than 1500 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons, and 4,200 trucks of aid allowed to enter Gaza every week.

Israel was late in starting the talks during the second stage of the ceasefire, which should have started four weeks ago, according to the terms of the original deal signed in January. Recent negotiations at the end of last week in Cairo failed to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas.

On Sunday, Netanyahu claimed that Israel would return to war if it considered that “negotiations are ineffective”, adding that it has guarantees from the American administration for such a step.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that he authorized the accelerated delivery of $ 4 billion in military aid to Israel, as he reflected what he claimed to be a “partial arms ban” by the former US administration of President Joe Biden due to fears of high civilian death fees and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Additional reports by Heba Saleh in Cairo and Steve Chavez in Washington