Israel stopped all humanitarian aid and goods from entering the Gaza Strip on Sunday, warning of “further consequences” after Hamas rejected its proposal to extend the first phase of an already fragile ceasefire agreement.
The first phase of the truce ended on Saturday, and negotiations for the second phase, which aimed to ultimately conclude the war, had stalled for weeks.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease,” the prime minister’s office stated on Sunday. It further warned, “If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.”
In response, Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, accused Israel of “sabotaging” the three-phase ceasefire agreement both parties had signed in January. He claimed that Netanyahu and the Trump administration were engaging in “a blatant coup against the ceasefire deal” and held Israel “responsible for escalating the situation and for the lives of the people on both sides.”
Naim also condemned Israel’s decision to block aid and close border crossings, calling it “a war crime in itself.” He urged the international community to pressure Israel into adhering to the terms of the January ceasefire agreement to “prevent destabilizing the situation further.”
The decision to stop humanitarian aid came after Netanyahu held an overnight security meeting, during which Israel accepted a U.S.-proposed plan by special envoy Steve Witkoff to extend the ceasefire’s first phase through Ramadan and Passover.
According to Netanyahu’s office, the plan required Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages, including the bodies of those who had died, on the first day of implementation. The remaining hostages would be released upon successful negotiation of a permanent ceasefire.
However, Hamas rejected the proposal, insisting that negotiations move to the second phase. This next step would involve additional hostage and prisoner releases, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and a permanent end to the war.
Hamas condemned Israel’s decision to halt aid, calling it an act of “blackmail” and urging mediators—the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar—to pressure Israel into following humanitarian obligations under the ceasefire agreement.
“[Israel’s] announcement to stop the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip is a new confirmation of its failure to abide by its pledges and its evasion of its obligations in the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a statement Sunday.
The group accused Israel of continuing “the war of extermination against our people and the blackmailing of an entire people for their livelihood, a drink of water and a pill of medicine.”
By Sunday morning, thousands of aid trucks were seen waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing after Israel shut down its checkpoints into Gaza.
Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on January 19, over 10,000 aid trucks carrying food, medicine, and tents have entered Gaza, according to Tom Fletcher, the United Nations’ top aid official. The first phase of the ceasefire also paused months of fighting and led to an exchange: 33 Israeli and five Thai hostages were released in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The conflict was reignited by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people, with another 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has resulted in more than 48,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the local health ministry. The offensive has devastated much of Gaza and displaced most of its 2.2 million residents.
Some far-right Israeli politicians praised Netanyahu’s decision to cut off aid. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X that blocking humanitarian assistance was “an important step in the right direction—‘the threshold of the gates of hell.’”
He went further, calling for the “gates of hell to be opened as quickly and as lethally as possible.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an emergency declaration to speed up the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military aid to Israel.
This decision reversed a partial arms embargo imposed by the Biden administration, which had withheld certain weapons from Israel. The statement noted that since taking office, the Trump administration has approved close to $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel through a program that enables the purchase of U.S. arms and military equipment.
By Sunday morning, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza had killed at least four people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
