Israel Halts Gaza Aid After Hamas Balks At New US Truce Idea
Hamas called Israel's move 'a cheap form of blackmail, a war crime and an outright violation of the agreement' that had envisaged a potential end to 16 months of region-rattling conflict.
(Bloomberg) — Israel halted all humanitarian aid and other imports to the war-shattered Gaza Strip as a six-week truce with Hamas expired on Sunday and the Iranian-backed Palestinian faction balked at a US bridging proposal to extend the suspension of hostilities.
The aid cut-off was coordinated with the US, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters.
"If Hamas keeps up its recalcitrance, there will be further consequences," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office earlier warned in a statement. Hamas called Israel's move "a cheap form of blackmail, a war crime and an outright violation of the agreement" that had envisaged a potential end to 16 months of region-rattling conflict.
Disagreement over Hamas' long-term fate had prevented an advance to a so-called Phase 2 entailing Israel's full military withdrawal from Gaza and recovery of remaining hostages there.
Under the 11th-hour proposal brought by White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Israel said it was willing to enter a new truce that would span the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish festival of Passover. Around half of the 59 hostages would be returned at once and the rest upon a deferred agreement on an open-ended suspension of hostilities, Israel said.
The negotiations have been mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with Witkoff, a billionaire real estate investor appointed by President Donald Trump as a special Middle East envoy, speaking to the US-aligned Arab powers.
Hamas, an Islamist group which is on terrorism blacklists in much of the West, said it "will not back down" from demanding Phase 2 now.
"The only path to regional stability and the return of the prisoners is the full implementation of the agreement, starting with the second phase, which includes a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal, reconstruction, and the release of prisoners under a mutually agreed-upon deal," Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said in a statement. "This is our firm stance."
Israel, with US support, wants Phase 2 to spell the end of Hamas' rule and arsenal. Hamas has signaled willingness to give up on governance but not its rockets and rifles.
Humanitarian aid imports, vital for the masses of impoverished and displaced Palestinians in Gaza, had been stepped up during the truce.
Saar, the foreign minister, said Hamas had turned "huge" imports coming into Gaza into a financial resource. "We are ready to negotiate the second phase according to our principles. The question is, what do you do during that time? Are you going to give a ceasefire for free?" he added.
A commentator for Israel's Army Radio suggested Palestinians had stockpiled enough fuel and food to survive and fight on, for now.
Ramadan began this weekend and concludes on March 30. Passover is from April 12 to April 20. Under Witkoff's proposal, Israel has a US-guaranteed right to resume its Gaza offensive after 42 days "if it deems the negotiations ineffective," Netanyahu's office said in its statement.
Israel has been keeping forces in and around Gaza on stand-by for any new combat.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that he'd signed a declaration to expedite the delivery of about $4 billion in military aid to Israel.
About two dozen of the hostages remaining in Gaza are believed to be alive. Scores of others were recovered in previous deals in return for Israel's release of hundreds of jailed Palestinian militants and detainees.
Thousands of Hamas operatives crossed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250. In the ensuing war with Israel, more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Vast stretches of the territory have been reduced to rubble.
