Palestinians sit on a large table surrounded by rubble from destroyed houses and buildings, gathered on the first day of Ramadan in Rafa, Southern Gaza Strip, on March 1, 2025, a fast-destroying meal.
Abdel Kareem Hana | AP Photos
Israel stopped all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, warning that Hamas would suffer “other consequences” if it did not accept the new proposal to expand a fragile ceasefire.
Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the existing ceasefire agreement and said its decision to cut off aid was “cheap blackmail, war crimes and blatant attacks,” a truce held in January after more than a year of negotiations. Neither side said the ceasefire was over.
The first phase of the ceasefire includes an expiration on Saturday, which includes a surge in humanitarian aid. The two sides have not negotiated a second phase, in which Hamas will release dozens of hostages in exchange for Israel’s retreat and a lasting ceasefire.
Egypt, once a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the closure and accused Israel of using “hunger as a weapon.” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for the immediate implementation of Phase 2 of the existing ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that under the existing agreement, Israel could resume combat in the first phase if it considers the negotiations invalid. He said the ceasefire would only continue if Hamas kept releasing hostages, telling his cabinet that “there won’t be a free lunch.” He said Israel is “fully coordinated” with President Donald Trump’s administration.
The United States did not immediately comment on the proposal announced by Israel or its proposal to cut off aid.
Hundreds of aid trucks have entered Gaza every day since the ceasefire began on January 19. But residents said prices doubled on Sunday as news of the closure spread and people competed.
“Everyone is worried,” said Sayed al-Dairi, a man living in Gaza. “It’s not life.”
Fayza Nassar, a woman living in a destroyed city of Jabalia refugee camp, said the closure would exacerbate the already terrible living conditions.
“There will be famine and chaos,” she said. “Close crossings is an outrageous crime.”
Israel says it has our support
Israel said the new proposal said it came from U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, calling for a ceasefire to extend to Ramadan (Muslim Holy Month), which begins the weekend’s holy month – and the Jewish Passover holiday ending April 20.
Netanyahu said that under the proposal, Hamas will release half of the hostages on the first day, while the rest will be at the time of a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas warned that any attempt to delay or cancel the ceasefire agreement would have “humanitarian consequences” for the hostages, reiterating that the only way to release them is to implement an existing deal that does not specify a timetable for the release of the remaining captives.
Hamas said it was willing to release hostages immediately in the second phase, but simply to release more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and the evacuation of Israeli forces.
An Egyptian official said Hamas and Egypt would not accept new proposals aimed at returning to the rest of the hostages without ending the war. The official noted that the agreement had called on both sides to start negotiations on the second phase from early February.
The official had no right to introduce to the media and did not want to be named, saying the mediator was trying to resolve the dispute.
Ceasefire harms due to dispute
During the first, six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and eight bodies in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces retreated from most of Gaza and most of Israel, causing humanitarian aid to influx.
But the first stage was damaged by repeated disputes, and both parties accused the other of violating.
Israel’s strike killed dozens of Palestinians, and the military said they were approaching areas where their troops or violated the armistice. Israel carried out an air strike on the Palestinians and planted explosive devices in northern Gaza near the border on Sunday. The Gaza Health Ministry said two men were killed during a strike and the Israeli fire killed two other people.
Hamas captured prisoners – some of whom were thin and thin in the crowd of people whom Israel and the United Nations said were cruel and depraved. Initially, it returned a group of wrong bodies, rather than the body of a mother who was imprisoned with two children.
Hamas said Israel’s aid suspension was another illegal act, saying the ceasefire and aid delivery should have continued in the second phase of negotiations.
Israel accused of blocking aid throughout the war
Israel exerted a complete siege of Gaza on the opening day of the war, and later relaxed the attack under pressure from the United States.
UN agencies and aid groups accuse Israel of not promoting adequate aid in the 15 months of the war, and the Biden administration repeatedly forced it to do more. Experts have repeatedly warned that hunger is widespread in Gaza and there is a risk of famine.
The International Criminal Court said there was reason to believe that when Israel issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last year, it used “hunger as the method of war.” The allegation that accused Israel of genocide in the International Court of Justice is also the core of the South African case.
Israel denied the allegations and rejected two court lawsuits, believing it was biased. Israel said it allowed enough aid to enter and blamed the shortage for the United Nations’ inability to distribute its content. It also accuses Hamas of stealing aid.
Kenneth Roth, a former head of Human Rights Watch and now a visiting professor at Princeton University, said Israel has an “absolute responsibility” as occupation to promote humanitarian aid under the Geneva Convention.
“The latest threat to Israel’s cut off all aid is the recovery of a war crime hunger strategy,” he said.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and hijacking 251 hostages. The militants currently hold 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead, with the majority of the rest in two ceasefire agreements.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli attack killed more than 48,000 Palestinians. It said more than half of the people were women and children, but no number of dead were specified as combatants.
Israeli bombing and ground operations have caused large tracts to blow up rubble, and at the height of the conflict, about 90% of the Palestinian population is displaced. The war has left Gaza’s population dependent on assistance from international food and other essentials.
Correction: The Associated Press story has been corrected to show that the remaining 35 people were considered dead, not 32.
