Blocks Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza After Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension News24 –

As the holy month of Ramadan starts today, Israel made a move of stopping all the aid into the gaza immediately, hours after proposing a temporary extension of the now-expired cease-fire with Hamas.

Israel’s decision to block aid is aimed at pressuring Hamas to accept and engage in discussions for a ceasefire extension, which could clarify the Israeli government’s negotiating position.

Israel’s proposal, reportedly based on an initiative by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, included releasing half of the remaining hostages in Gaza on the first day of the agreement. If in case Hamas agreed for the truce, it would halt fighting until the end of the Ramadan fasting period around March 31 and the Jewish Passover holiday around April 20. And if a permanent truce is reached by then, the remaining hostages would also be released. However, after Hamas rejected this proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced a halt to all goods and supplies entering Gaza as a pressure tactic.

What Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Office Said

According to New York Times, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he had decided that, “as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease” because of “Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff outline for continuing talks, to which Israel agreed.”

The statement added: “Israel will not allow a cease-fire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.”

Hamas immediately rejected the move, describing it in a statement as “cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant upending of the agreement.”
Israel and Hamas have struggled to transition from the first phase of the cease-fire, which ended on Saturday, to a more comprehensive second phase as originally outlined in the agreement. In response, Israel proposed a tentative truce following a cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which included the defense minister, senior defense officials, and a negotiating team, according to the prime minister’s office.

Israel On Aid Halt

The Isreali Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has told that Israel is willing to engage in negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas in exchange for the release of hostages.
The Times Of Israel Carried a report suggesting Israel is “prepared to continue negotiations, including on phase two, according to our principles, in exchange for the release of hostages,” Sa’ar says in a Jerusalem press conference. Referring to the suspension of aid going into the Strip, Sa’ar says the US “accepts our stance and recognizes it.”

“Israel is implementing the principle of ‘no free meals,” the foreign minister says.

Israelis Stormed Into the Al-Aqsa Mosque

Palestine’s Wafa news agency reported that more than 500 Israeli mob have forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the second day of Ramadan under the protection of Israeli soldiers. Reports said that the mob tours around Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, and performed Jewish rituals in the eastern area of the compound.

Israel-Hamas Deal

Israel and Hamas have struggled to move from the first phase of the cease-fire, which expired on Saturday, into a second, more comprehensive phase as the deal initially called for.

According to Reuters, a Hamas spokesman told Al-Araby TV on Saturday that the group had rejected Israel’s proposal for a ceasefire extension. The proposed truce would have lasted through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began over the weekend and ends in late March, as well as the Jewish holiday of Passover, observed from the evening of April 12 until April 20.

Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for breaching the ceasefire agreement, which was established in the final days of the Biden administration. The first phase of the deal allowed for a six-week truce to facilitate negotiations for ending the war.

As part of the agreement, Israeli hostages were to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. However, a week ago, Israel postponed the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees in response to Hamas publicly parading Israeli hostages before their transfer.