Conflict in the Middle East
Israel stops in Gaza Strip after importing ceasefire.
At the end of the first phase of ceasefire in the Gaza War, Israel and Hamas cannot agree on a sequel. Netanyahu decides on a delivery stop for Gaza as a means of pressure.
After the first phase of a ceasefire with the Islamist Hamas, Israel imposed an import stop into the Gaza Strip. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the head of government had decided to accept a US proposal to extend the first phase until the next month.
“From this morning, all imports of goods and deliveries are stopped in the Gaza Strip,” it said in the message. “Israel will not enable ceasefire without release our hostages.” There will also be “further consequences if Hamas insists on their refusal”.
Hamas speaks of “unscrupulous extortion”
The Hamas then accused Netanyahu of violating the ceasefire agreement. The stop of humanitarian aid deliveries is “unscrupulous extortion, a war crime and a serious break of the agreement,” said a telegram announcement of the terrorist organization. The mediators – in addition to Qatar and Egypt but also the USA – and the international community would have to put pressure on Israel to end his “repressive and immoral measures” against people in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli hostages could only be released by the immediate inclusion of negotiations on the second phase of the agreement.
Since the beginning of the ceasefire on January 19, more relief supplies had come in the blocked coastal strips. An import stop could have dramatic consequences for the approximately two million inhabitants of Gaza, who already live under precarious circumstances.
According to its own information, Israel approved a proposal of the US specialist Steve Witkoff to continue the ceasefire until mid-April in return for the handover of potentially all remaining hostages. The Hamas has so far rejected the plan, it said. Instead, the terrorist organization calls for an immediate transition to the second phase of the three-stage ceasefire agreement. In return, this provides for a release of the remaining hostages for a permanent end of the war. However, Israel insists on the war destination of the destruction of Hamas.
dpa
Source: Stern
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