JERUSALEM: Israel blocked the entry of support vehicles into Gaza on Sunday (Mar 2) as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the previous six weeks escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace stated earlier that it had adopted a proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a short lived ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover durations, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired.
If agreed, the truce would halt combating till the tip of the Ramadan fasting interval round Mar 31 and the Jewish Passover vacation round Apr 20.
The truce could be conditional on Hamas releasing half of the living and dead hostages on the primary day, with the rest launched on the conclusion, if an settlement is reached on a everlasting ceasefire.
Hamas says it’s dedicated to the initially agreed ceasefire that had been scheduled to maneuver right into a second section, with negotiations aimed toward a everlasting finish to the warfare, and it has rejected the concept of a short lived extension to the 42-day truce.
Reflecting the fragility of the ceasefire deal, native well being officers stated Israeli gunfire had killed 4 Palestinians in separate assaults within the northern and southern Gaza Strip. There was no instant Israeli remark.
Egyptian sources stated on Friday that the Israeli delegation in Cairo had sought to increase the primary section by 42 days, whereas Hamas wished to maneuver to the second section of the ceasefire deal. Spokesman Hazem Qassem stated on Saturday that the group rejected Israel’s “formulation” of extending the primary section.
Within the first section of the ceasefire, Hamas handed over 33 Israeli hostages in addition to five Thais returned in an unscheduled release, in change for round 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from a few of their positions in Gaza.
Underneath the unique settlement, the second section was supposed to see the beginning of negotiations over the discharge of the remaining 59 hostages, the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and a remaining finish to the warfare.
