The Albany Gazette - Israel suspends aid to Gaza as first phase of truce ends

As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel gave its backing to an extension it said was put forward by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal's second phase, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended," his office said in a statement.

"Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences," it added.

Hamas slammed the move, saying in a statement that the "decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement".

Gaza's civil defence agency, meanwhile, reported that "artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks" targeted areas east of Khan Yunis city, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Approached for comment, the Israeli army said it was looking into the matter.

The army also said it had conducted an air strike in northern Gaza targeting suspects it said had "planted an explosive device in the area" near its troops.

Following the announcement of the aid suspension, Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri wrote on X: "No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage."

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose party is crucial to keeping Netanyahu's government in power, welcomed the decision to suspend aid.

Stopping aid "until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are freed is an important step in the right direction", he said on Telegram, calling for a renewed fight "until total victory" against Hamas.

"We have remained in government to ensure this," he added.

- 'Punitive measures' -

According to the Israeli statement, the truce extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire.

Hamas called on "mediators and the international community to pressure" Israel to "put an end to these punitive, immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip".

Its spokesman Hazem Qassem later said Israel "bears responsibility for the consequences of its decision on the people of the Strip and the fate of its prisoners".

A senior Hamas official had earlier told AFP the Palestinian militant group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said Sunday that proceeding to the second phase was "the only way to achieve stability in the region and the return" of the hostages.

Under the first phase, Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight others, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.

Of the 251 captives taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

More than 15 months of war created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the UN repeatedly warning the territory was on the brink of famine before the ceasefire allowed a surge of aid to enter.

But Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday dismissed warnings of famine in Gaza as a "lie".

"With regards to this starvation [claim], that was a lie during all this war. That was a lie," Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.

The suspension of aid comes as Palestinians in Gaza, alongside much of the Muslim world, mark the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful observe a dawn-to-dusk fast.

The war has ravaged the vast majority of Gaza and killed more than 48,388 people there, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry, figures the UN has deemed reliable.

It began with Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Washington announced late Saturday it was boosting its military aid to Israel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was using "emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance".

(Y.Harris--TAG)