A displaced Palestinian family gathers for the iftar fast-breaking meal on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at their makeshift shelter in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended," his office said in a statement.
The office added that Israel supports a proposal put forward by the Trump administration's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, or 20 April.
"Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences," it added.
Hamas slammed Israel's suspension of the aid entering Gaza as a "war crime" and a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
"Netanyahu's decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime, and a blatant coup against the ceasefire agreement," the group said in a statement.
An Israeli official, speaking on anonymity, told the AP that the Trump administration coordinated the decision to suspend aid.
The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday.
The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, which is supposed to see swapping the remaining Israeli captives for more Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli pullout from Gaza, and a lasting ceasefire.
The proposed extension of phase one would see half of the captives still in Gaza released on the day the deal comes into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, according to Netanyahu's office.
Hamas had previously rejected the idea of an extension in favour of moving on to phase two.
"The only way to achieve stability in the region and the return of the prisoners is to complete the implementation of the agreement ... starting with the implementation of the second phase," Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said in a statement given to AFP on Sunday.
The standoff over how to proceed with the truce process comes as world leaders and international organisations warn against the resumption of the war. Israel's monstrous 15-month war on Gaza has devastated it and displaced most of its population, putting them on the verge of famine.
Under the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli captives and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its "readiness to engage in negotiations for the second phase." However, Israel is pushing to secure more captive releases under an extension of the first phase.
A Palestinian source close to the talks told AFP that Israel had proposed to extend the first phase in successive one-week intervals to conduct captive-prisoner swaps each week, adding that Hamas had rejected the plan.
Domestic political considerations are behind Netanyahu's reluctance to begin the second stage.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the far-right faction in the governing coalition, has threatened to quit if the war is not resumed.
"The Israeli government could fall if we enter phase two," said Michael Horowitz, the head of intelligence for risk management consultancy Le Beck International.
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