Israel Halts Aid Delivery to Gaza Strip... Hamas Condemns as "War Crime"

Difficulties in Ceasefire Extension Negotiations

Amid the failure of Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas to reach an agreement on extending the ceasefire, the Israeli government has decided to completely halt the entry of humanitarian aid supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Yonhap News

On the 2nd (local time), the Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement announcing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made this decision. The Prime Minister's Office explained, "This measure was taken because Hamas did not accept the 'Whitkopf Framework' agreed upon by Israel after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement ended."

This move is interpreted as an effort to pressure Hamas into accepting the ceasefire extension plan proposed by Steve Whitkopf, the Middle East envoy of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Whitkopf proposed extending the ceasefire until the end of Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month (ending March 29), and Passover, the Jewish holiday (ending April 20). If the ceasefire extension is agreed upon, Hamas would immediately return half of the remaining surviving hostages and the bodies of the deceased to Israel, and upon reaching a permanent peace agreement, the rest of the bodies would be repatriated. This is seen as a newly proposed compromise amid difficulties in the second phase of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas strongly opposed the suspension of aid deliveries. According to AFP, Hamas criticized in a statement, "Halting humanitarian aid is a cheap trick, a war crime, and a blatant reversal of the agreement."

Previously, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire on the 19th of last month, planning to conduct second-phase negotiations centered on the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of all remaining hostages during the 42-day first phase. However, both sides failed to narrow their differences on extending the ceasefire by the end of the first phase on the 1st. Nevertheless, as negotiations continue, full-scale fighting in the Gaza Strip has not resumed to date.