Israel Blocks All Back To Gaza To Stress Hamas Into Backing Unique Ceasefire Proposal
Data breach
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel stopped the entry of all items and affords into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of “extra penalties” if Hamas doesn’t uncover a brand fresh proposal to prolong a fragile ceasefire.
Hamas accused Israel of looking out to derail the prevailing ceasefire agreement and said its resolution to reduce lend a hand off abet used to be “cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant assault” on the truce, which took preserve in January after bigger than a 300 and sixty five days of negotiations. Every aspect stopped brief of claiming the ceasefire had ended.
The principle segment of the ceasefire, which incorporated a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday. The 2 aspects get yet to barter the 2nd segment, by which Hamas used to be to free up dozens of ultimate hostages in return for an Israeli pullout and an enduring ceasefire.
Egypt, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the closure and accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon.” International Minister Badr Abdelatty known as for the rapid implementation of Segment 2 of the prevailing ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Top Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that below the prevailing agreements Israel might well well additionally resume struggling with after the main segment if it believed negotiations were ineffective. He said the ceasefire would handiest continue if Hamas saved releasing hostages, telling his Cupboard that “there will seemingly be no free lunches.” He said Israel used to be “corpulent coordinated” with President Donald Trump’s administration.
There used to be no rapid comment from the US on the proposal launched by Israel or its resolution to reduce lend a hand off abet.
A total lot of abet autos get entered Gaza day by day since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. But residents said prices doubled on Sunday as observe of the closure spread and other folks raced to stand up.
“Each person appears to be like to agonize,” said Sayed al-Dairi, a man living in Gaza Metropolis. “Right here is no longer a life.”
Fayza Nassar, a lady living in the carefully destroyed city Jabaliya refugee camp, said the closure would exacerbate already dire living instances.
“There’ll seemingly be famine and chaos,” she said. “Closing the crossings is a noxious crime.”
A sprawling tent camp for displaced Palestinians sits adjoining to destroyed homes and structures in Gaza Metropolis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 1, 2025 for the length of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (AP Describe/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Israel says it has US backing
Israel said the fresh proposal, which it said came from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, known as for extending the ceasefire by Ramadan — the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend — and the Jewish Passover vacation, which ends on April 20.
Beneath that proposal, Hamas would free up half of the hostages on the main day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu said.
Hamas warned that any are trying to prolong or extinguish the ceasefire agreement would get “humanitarian penalties” for the hostages and reiterated that the excellent attain to free them used to be by enforcing the prevailing deal, which did no longer specify a timeline for releasing the final captives.
Hamas has said it is a ways willing to free the hostages with out note in Segment 2, however handiest in return for the free up of more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
An Egyptian official said Hamas and Egypt would no longer uncover a brand fresh proposal aimed at returning the final hostages with out ending the war. The official famed that the agreement had known as on the 2 aspects to open up negotiations over Segment 2 in early February.
The official, who used to be no longer authorized to transient media and spoke on situation of anonymity, said mediators were looking out to fetch to the bottom of the dispute.
Palestinians take a seat at a ample table surrounded by the rubble of destroyed homes and structures as they gain for iftar, the like a flash-breaking meal, on the main day of Ramadan in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 1, 2025 (AP Describe/Abdel Kareem Hana)
But the main segment used to be marred by repeated disputes, with every aspect accusing the different of violations.
Israeli strikes get killed dozens of Palestinians who the protection power said had approached its forces or entered areas in violation of the truce. Israel utilized an airstrike on Palestinians who it said were planting an explosive instrument in northern Gaza shut to the border on Sunday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said two males were killed in the strike and that Israeli fireplace killed two americans in totally different places.
Hamas paraded the captives — a couple of of whom were emaciated — ahead of crowds in public spectacles that Israel and the United International locations said were cruel and degrading. It in the origin returned the unfriendly intention of stays as a replace of these of a mother who used to be killed in captivity collectively alongside with her two young formative years.
Hamas said Israel’s abet suspension used to be one other violation, saying the ceasefire and abet deliveries were supposed to continue for the length of negotiations over Segment 2.
Israel used to be accused of blockading abet all the intention by the war
Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza in the opening days of the war and handiest eased it later below U.S. rigidity.
U.N. companies and abet groups accused Israel of no longer facilitating ample abet for the length of 15 months of war, and the Biden administration over and over pressed it to attain more. Experts warned on several occasions that starvation used to be frequent in Gaza and that there used to be a risk of famine.
The World Prison Courtroom said there used to be motive to agree with Israel had feeble “starvation as a attain of battle” when it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu final 300 and sixty five days. The allegation is additionally central to South Africa’s case at the World Courtroom of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
Israel has denied the accusations and rejected each court actions as being biased against it. Israel says it has allowed ample abet to enter and blamed shortages on what it said used to be the U.N.’s lack of ability to distribute it. It additionally accused Hamas of siphoning off abet.
Kenneth Roth, the outmoded head of Human Rights Explore who is now a visiting professor at Princeton University, said that Israel as an occupying vitality has an “absolute accountability” to facilitate humanitarian abet below the Geneva Conventions.
“Israel’s most novel risk to reduce lend a hand off all abet is a resumption of the war-crime starvation contrivance” that led to the ICC warrant, he said.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 other folks, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. The militants are at veil maintaining 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be unnecessary, after releasing a lot of the rest in two ceasefire agreements.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, in step with Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says bigger than half of of these killed were ladies and formative years however doesn’t specify how a lot of the unnecessary were opponents.
Israeli bombardment and ground operations pounded ample areas of the strip to rubble and at the end of the battle displaced some 90% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians. The war has left most of Gaza’s population dependent on international abet for food and other necessities.
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This tale has been corrected to veil that 35 of the final hostages are believed to be unnecessary, no longer 32.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Linked Press author Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this affirm.
