Israel has halted all humanitarian and other supplies to Gaza, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, threatening Hamas of “additional consequences” if the Palestinian terrorist group refuses to accept a new ceasefire phase mediated by the United States.

Why It Matters

The first stage of a six-week ceasefire pact to halt the fighting in Gaza, mediated in Qatar with considerable influence from US President Donald Trump’s officials, ended on Saturday. Hamas agreed to release 25 Israeli hostages in Gaza, as well as the bodies of eight more individuals. Israel also released around 2,000 Palestinians from Israeli detention.

Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from many of Gaza’s most densely populated neighborhoods, allowing hundreds of relief vehicles to enter the region every day. Humanitarian organizations and governments around the world have emphasized the necessity of help reaching a devastated Gaza, where Palestinians are frequently displaced and lack access to basic essentials. Israel has chastised assistance groups in Gaza for ineffective resource distribution, accusing militants of stealing supplies from aid trucks.

What To Know

Netanyahu’s administration claimed on Sunday that Hamas had declined to accept a request from Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to continue talks on a next stage ceasefire accord. Netanyahu had decided to halt all products and supplies entering the Gaza Strip as of Sunday morning, according to his office.

Basem Naim, a Hamas spokesperson and senior political figure, told Newsweek that “cutting aid and closing the borders is a war crime in itself,” and that Netanyahu “has to be punished for that.” “It is now the role of the international community to intervene and oblige Israel to abide the signed deal to prevent destabilizing the situation further,” the prime minister added.

According to Netanyahu’s administration, “Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages.” On October 7, 2023, Hamas took 251 prisoners from Israel into Gaza, killing an estimated 1,200 people in its massive attacks on Israel. Israel then started an extremely devastating war on Gaza, which Hamas-run health authorities claim has killed over 48,000 people. This statistic makes no distinction between civilians and fighters.

On Thursday, Hamas returned the corpses of four Israeli detainees in the final planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase. The bargain restored 33 Israeli captives and five Thai nationals in captivity, while 59 hostages remain in the strip, with Israel believing 32 of them are dead. “If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences,” Netanyahu’s office stated. Netanyahu’s office had indicated hours earlier that it supported Witkoff’s “framework” for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas that would encompass the Muslim Ramadan and Jewish Passover periods, which expire on April 20.

The prime minister’s office said that under this plan, half the hostages still in the strip, both living and dead, would be released. If Hamas and Israel reach a permanent ceasefire deal, the rest of the hostages would be returned to Israel, according to the statement. Witkoff said the plan would extend a ceasefire after “gaining the impression that, at present, there was no possibility of bridging between the positions of the sides on ending the war, and that additional time was required for talks on a permanent ceasefire,” Netanyahu’s office added.

Naim stated that Hamas was “committed” to the initial ceasefire parameters agreed upon with the assistance of the US, but that the Israeli government, backed by the Trump administration, was carrying out a “blatant coup against the ceasefire deal.” An anonymous Israeli official told The Associated Press that the decision to halt aid to Gaza was reached in consultation with the Trump administration. Newsweek was unable to independently confirm the claims and contacted the State Department for comment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that the administration had lifted a Biden-era partial arms embargo on Israel, which he described as “wrongly” withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel.