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Israel cuts off Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept new cease-fire proposal
[NY Post] Well, they were already fasting, so...Israel halted humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned Hamas there would be “additional consequences” after the cease-fire deal expired — a move the terror organization claimed was an attempt at “cheap extortion.” Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire’s first stage, which ended Saturday. Meanwhile, Egypt said Sunday his country will present plan to rebuild Gaza — and let Palestinians stay on the strip — at an emergency Arab summit March 4, according to the Times of Israel. The proposal comes as Arab countries try to counter Trump’s controversial plan to uproot Palestinians and send them out of Gaza so the United States can control it. Also on Sunday, Israeli official told the Associated Press that the country coordinated with the Trump administration to end aid shipments to the Palestinian enclave along the Mediterranean. In response, Hamas called Israel’s strong-arm tactics “cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack” on the truce,” which began Jan. 19 after more than a year of talks. Despite the squabble, neither side declared the fragile armistice dead in the water. A proposal to extend the cease-fire — which Israel said came from Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy — would keep the truce in place through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends April 20. Hamas would release half its remaining hostages on the first day, and would cut the rest loose after the two sides reached a permanent ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. “We fulfilled all our commitments (under Phase 1) until the very last day, which was yesterday,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a press conference. “Our position is that during negotiations, hostages should be released.” Hamas, for its part, quickly warned that any attempt to cancel the ceasefire would lead to “humanitarian consequences” for those still in its care.
Hamas has said it would free all the hostages at once during a second phase, but would also demand the release of Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli pullout. Neither Hamas nor Egypt would accept a proposal to let the captives go if Israel doesn’t agree to end the war, an Egyptian official said. Mediators are still trying to resolve the argument, the official added. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that Arab nations are working to agreed on a plan for rebuilding Gaza after the war ends. “We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab summit,” Abdelatty said at a press conference, the outlet reported. Posted by: Frank G 2025-03-02 |
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