Israel halts all aid to Gaza amid ceasefire standoff

Israel has stopped all aid and other supplies heading into Gaza, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office said on Sunday, warning of “additional consequences” for Hamas if the Palestinian militant group refuses to accept a U.S.-masterminded plan for a new ceasefire phase.

Why It Matters

The first stage of a six-week ceasefire deal to pause the war in Gaza, brokered in Qatar with heavy influence from U.S. President Donald Trump‘s officials, expired on Saturday. Under the deal, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages held in Gaza, as well as the bodies of eight more people in the strip. Israel also returned close to 2,000 Palestinians from Israeli custody.

Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from much of Gaza’s most populated areas and allow hundreds of aid trucks to pass into the territory each day. Humanitarian groups and officials across the world have stressed the importance of aid reaching a pummeled Gaza, its residents often displaced several times and lacking access to basic necessities. Israel has blamed aid agencies in Gaza for what it described as ineffectively distributing resources, and said militants have stolen supplies from aid lorries.

What To Know

Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that Hamas had refused to accept a proposal from Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to keep discussions on a next stage ceasefire deal going. Netanyahu had decided that all goods and supplies heading into the Gaza Strip would be stopped as of Sunday morning, his office said.

Basem Naim, a spokesperson for Hamas and senior political figure in the organization, told Newsweek that “cutting the aid and closing the borders is a war crime in itself,” saying 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,” he said.

Netanyahu’s office said: “Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages.”

A total of 251 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7, 2023, and an estimated 1,200 people were killed when Hamas carried out its unprecedented attacks on Israel. Israel then launched its highly destructive war on Gaza, which Hamas-run health authorities in the strip say has killed more than 48,000 people. This number does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hamas returned the remains of four Israeli hostages on Thursday under the final planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase. A total of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals in captivity were returned under the deal, but 59 hostages remain in the strip, although Israel has said it believes 32 of these hostages are dead.

“If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences,” Netanyahu’s office added.

Netanyahu’s office had said hours earlier that it backed a “framework” outlined by Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas that covered the Muslim Ramadan and Jewish Passover period, which ends 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 said Hamas was “committed” to the original ceasefire provisions agreed with the influence of the U.S, but 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 stop aid flowing into Gaza was made in coordination with the Trump administration. Newsweek was unable to independently verify the statement and has contacted the State Department for comment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the administration had reversed a Biden-era partial arms embargo on Israel, which he described as “wrongly” withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel.

It is “yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump,” Rubio said in a statement.

Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, told reporters on Sunday that the previous U.S. administration, stewarded by Biden, has ensured there would be “no automatic transition between phases” of a ceasefire deal.

“We are prepared to continue negotiations, including for the second phase—based on our principles, in exchange for the release of hostages,” Sa’ar said.

Reuters reported on Friday that Israeli negotiators in Cairo had hoped to extend the first phase of the ceasefire by 42 days, while Hamas wanted to forge ahead with the previously-agreed second stage. Netanyahu had said on Thursday he was sending Israeli teams to Cairo to negotiate on keeping a ceasefire alive.

Who Said What

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, said in a statement on Sunday that the decision to “completely halt the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are returned is an important step in the right direction.”

Hamas spokesperson Basem Naim said Israel is “sabotaging a deal, which was expected to bring some stability and security for everyone and to open a way forward.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether Israel will continue a block on aid, and whether U.S., Qatari and Egyptian negotiators will be able to press ahead with talks to advance a permanent ceasefire.