Israel cuts off aid to Gaza, jeopardizing ceasefire

BarcelonaA month and a half ago Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce in the Gaza Strip, although there has always been concern that it might break down before a long-term peace is achieved. One of the key dates was March 1, the day the first phase of the agreement expired. Starting this Sunday, a new stage was to begin in order to move towards a permanent ceasefire. The terms of the pact established that all Israeli soldiers should have withdrawn from the Palestinian enclave before then.

Well, this Sunday, the day after the first deadline, the bad omens have been confirmed. The Israeli army is still present in the Strip and there is no progress in the negotiations for the immediate future of the enclave. Israel has demanded that the first phase be extended for another month and a half and, as Hamas has not accepted, it has counterattacked with the most powerful threat at its disposal: it has ordered a halt to all entry of humanitarian aid into a Strip. devastated by 15 months of war.

"There will be no free lunch," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. "If Hamas thinks it will be possible to maintain the ceasefire or enjoy the conditions of Phase 1 without us receiving hostages, it is very wrong," he added at the start of a meeting of his cabinet on Sunday.

Hamas has considered Tel Aviv's decision to be "cheap blackmail" and a "blow" to the agreement, and has urged the mediators (Qatar, Egypt and the United States) to force the country to end the punitive measures against the Strip. The Islamist group warned that this decision "complicates things and affects the negotiation process," and warned that Israel "is responsible" for the fate of the hostages still held in Gaza.

Israel has accused Hamas of not accepting the draft of US special envoy Steve Witkoff to continue the talks. Tel Aviv attributes to Donald Trump's envoy a proposal to extend the first phase during the month of Ramadan and Passover (50 days in total) in exchange for the release of half of the hostages alive and dead still in Gaza. "Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas maintains its refusal, there will be greater consequences," Netanyahu's office warned in a statement.

During the first phase, 33 hostages have been released in exchange for 1,778 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. According to the prime minister at the cabinet meeting, Hamas is holding 59 Israelis captive, of whom 24 are alive and 35 dead. Netanyahu has also said he is "fully coordinated" with the Trump administration. According to the plan presented by Witkoff, on the first day of implementation of the extension of the first phase, Hamas should release half of the hostages and, at the end, if an agreement is reached for the next stage, the rest of the hostages would be returned, all at once.

The decision to cut the entry of goods into Gaza has been condemned by several international organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders, which have stressed that "humanitarian aid should never be used as a weapon of war."

The Israeli army killed at least four people and wounded 12 in several places in the enclave on Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip. The Israeli defense forces said that, in one of the attacks, in the north, it "eliminated" suspects who were placing an explosive device near the soldiers deployed in the area.

According to Hamas, however, Israeli forces have committed 962 ceasefire violations during the six weeks of the first phase. According to a report by the Islamist group cited by Efe, Israeli soldiers have killed 98 people, wounded 490 and carried out 45 raids and 37 bombings.

"The gates of hell"

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the most extremists in Netanyahu's government, welcomed the decision, saying that "it is a step in the right direction." He called for the country to resume fighting "until we obtain complete victory." "Now we have to open the gates [of hell] as quickly and lethally as possible against the cruel enemy," said Smotrich, who decided to continue supporting the coalition government despite its rejection of the ceasefire agreement in order to maintain pressure to return to war against Hamas. On the other hand, another of the ultra-right partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, did leave the government. This Sunday, Ben-Gvir also called for "opening the gates of hell"; both used an expression uttered by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, during his election campaign.

In parallel, the United States announced the approval of a major arms package for Israel worth 4 billion dollars. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Saturday night that he signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of this military assistance. This emergency declaration allows the State Department to bypass congressional review of the sale. With this new package, the new Trump administration's arms sales to Israel amount to nearly $12 billion.