Palestinians refill on water next to a destroyed mosque at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also threatened Hamas with unimaginable consequences if it did not return the Israelis held in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Palestinian group accused his government of sabotaging the truce that took effect on 19 January, according to AFP.
The first phase of the fragile ceasefire ended over the weekend, but talks over its future have hit an impasse after six weeks of relative calm in the Gaza Strip that included exchanges of Israelis for Palestinian prisoners and an influx of badly needed aid into the devastated territory.
Israel introduced an extension of the first phase until mid-April, which Hamas rejected. The Palestinian group insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.
Netanyahu called it the “Witkoff proposal,” saying it came from US President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. But the White House has yet to confirm that, saying only that it supports whatever action Israel takes, AP said.
Witkoff plans to visit the region in coming days to work out a way to either extend the first phase or advance to the second phase, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining Israelis in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian detainees — a key component of the first phase.
Netanyahu, speaking Monday in the Israeli parliament, warned Hamas that "there will be consequences that you cannot imagine," AFP said.
Netanyahu's office had announced Israel was blocking all entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies into the Gaza Strip" and that Hamas would face "other consequences" if it did not accept the extension.
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, accused Israel of actively sabotaging the ceasefire, calling its push for an extension "a blatant attempt to... avoid entering into negotiations for the second phase."
Israel "was interested in the collapse of the agreement and worked hard to achieve that," Hamdan said in a video statement.
The move to block aid drew criticism from key truce mediators Egypt and Qatar, which both considered it a violation of the ceasefire deal.
Other governments in the region, as well as the United Nations and some of Israel's Western allies, have condemned the Israeli decision.
Netanyahu's narrow coalition is beholden to far-right allies who want to eliminate Hamas, displace the Palestinians from Gaza through what they refer to as “voluntary emigration,” and rebuild colonial Jewish settlements in the territory.
AP reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu enters Phase 2 of the existing agreement and does not resume the war.
The new plan would buy Netanyahu six weeks of breathing room and enough time to pass a budget by the end of the month — something he must do to keep his government from automatically falling. If it falls, elections would be held roughly a year and a half ahead of schedule, and he could be removed from power.
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