Israeli authorities arrested humanitarian aid entry into the Gaza Strip this Sunday, after expire the first phase of the high fire agreement between Israel and Hamas In the enclave, the office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamín Netanyahu announced in a message.
“With the end of phase 1 (…), Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, Any entry of goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will cease“, details the statement.
The authorities accused Hamas of “Do not accept Witkoff draft to continue conversations”in reference to a proposal that Israel attributes to the special American envoy Steve Witkoff to extend the first phase during the month of Ramadan in exchange for the release of half of the living and dead hostages that are still in Gaza.
“Israel will not accept fire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas maintains its refusal, there will be more consequences“Netanyahu’s office warned.
End of the first phase with broken negotiations
The first phase of the Alto El Fuego Agreement in Gaza ended this Saturday without Hamas and Israel reaching an agreement to implement the second, which should have entered into force this Sunday and that contemplates the delivery of the rest of living hostages in the enclave and the final end of the war.
The negotiations between the two broke on Friday After the Israeli negotiating team proposed the mediators in Cairo to extend the current phase to maintain the exchanges between hostages by Palestinian prisoners without implementing the second phase.
The Islamist organization Hamas He called “unacceptable” Israel’s proposalsince it considers that this decision allows them to dodge the withdrawal of their troops from the enclave, including the Strategic Philadelphia corridor, and not face the end of the war, as stated in the pact they signed in Doha in January.
According to the agreement, while the negotiations for the second phase are underway, the fire should be respected. However, as reported by the Palestinian group, There are no ongoing conversations.
This situation does fear relatives of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza (about thirty dead, according to Israel) that Israeli forces resume their bombings, a concern shared by the Gazati population, which began to rebuild their lives after these first 42 days of truce.
The UN reproaches Israel for its decision
The Chief of Humanitarian Affairs of the UN, Tom Fletcher, The new blockade has declared “alarming” Tax this Sunday for Israel at the entrance of help in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has once again suspended the entry of the aid to demand Hamas to accept a plan promoted by the United States alternative to the initial agreement of Alto El Fuego that began in January and whose first phase expired this Saturday without continuation in view.
“This is an alarming decision”Fletcher has lamented in a statement published in its social network X. “International Humanitarian Law is clear: We must be allowed access to deliver vital help to save lives, “he added.
“We cannot turn back in the advances of the last 42 days. We need the aid to arrive and the hostages come out. The high fire must continue, “the humanitarian chief has settled.
