The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas, which lasted 42 days, came to an end on Sunday night. Tel Aviv announced that US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had proposed a new plan to extend the ceasefire. This is due to the differences between Israel and Hamas regarding a complete end to the war being insurmountable.
Israel has already signaled its acceptance of the plan, but Hamas has not. In response, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that, in the absence of Hamas’s acceptance, the import of all goods into the Gaza Strip would be stopped.
“From today, all imports of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be halted. Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages” the office of Netanyahu stated clearly.
According to reports, Witkoff’s proposal would extend the first phase of the ceasefire until the end of the religious festivals of Ramadan and Passover, that is, until April 20. Under this proposal, Hamas would release half of the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, both living and dead, on the first day of the agreement and the rest if a permanent ceasefire agreement is reached.
Hamas described Netanyahu’s decision to stop aid deliveries to Gaza as a war crime and a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister is trying to adapt the agreement to his domestic political interests and sacrifice the lives of captive Israeli citizens, the Palestinian movement claimed.
Israel’s assertion that Hamas is violating the ceasefire agreement is a baseless and misleading accusation, it was said in a statement on Telegram. These aim to conceal the daily and systematic violations of Israel against the said agreement, which have already resulted in the death of more than 100 civilians in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is also worsening further.
The mediators – besides Qatar and Egypt, also the US – and the international community must exert pressure on Israel to end its “repressive and immoral measures” against the people of the Gaza Strip, Hamas demanded.