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#Israel announced on Sunday morning that it was halting the entry of all goods & #humanitarian assistance into #Gaza immediately, hours after proposing a temporary extension of the now-expired #ceasefire w/ #Hamas.
The drastic step to block #aid appeared to be aimed at pressuring Hamas into accepting the new framework — & to make the Israeli govt’s negotiating position clear.
#geopolitics #HumanitarianCrisis #Palestinian #MiddleEast
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/world/middleeast/israel-cease-fire-proposal.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=p&pvid=F2AA3C95-D2F0-47D1-84D5-7E03F1356BFD
Under #Israel’s proposal for an extension, which it attributed to #Trump’s #US envoy to the region, #SteveWitkoff, half of the remaining #hostages held in #Gaza would be released to Israel on the first day of the agreement. If, at the end of the temporary extension — stretching until the end of Passover on April 20 — a permanent truce had been reached, the rest of the hostages would then be returned.
#Netanyahu’s office said in a stmnt that he had decided that, “as of this morning, all entry of goods & supplies into the #Gaza Strip will cease” because of “#Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff outline for continuing talks, to which #Israel agreed.”
The stmnt added: “Israel will not allow a cease-fire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.”
The move is likely to worsen conditions for the inhabitants of #Gaza, after the 15-month #war left much of the coastal enclave in ruins.
#Israel & #Hamas have struggled to move from the first phase of the cease-fire, which expired on Sat, into a second, more comprehensive phase as the deal initially called for.
Israel’s proposal of a tentative truce came after a cabinet meeting led by Netanyahu & attended by his minister of defense, senior defense officials & a negotiating team….
Earlier Saturday, #Hamas …rejected #Israel’s [#SteveWitkoff’s] framework for an extension….
And Hamas is unlikely to accept Israel’s offer without further negotiations, acc/to Aaron David Miller, a former #State Dept #MiddleEast analyst & negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The proposal, he said, “allows Israelis to get hostages back without making reciprocal commitments.”
The proposed extension would cover the #Muslim holy month of #Ramadan, which started over the wknd & concludes at the end of March, & the #Jewish holiday of #Passover, April 12–20. Giving #Israel & #Hamas ~7wks to reach a comprehensive agreement.
“Hamas is not going to return all of the hostages until it has ironclad guarantees that the Israelis will withdraw their forces & formally declare & abide by an end of the #war…. No one is going to give Hamas that guarantee,” Miller said.