Netanyahu halts Gaza humanitarian aid as first phase of ceasefire expires

CAIRO – 2 March 2025: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that aid entering Gaza will cease immediately as the first phase of the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire agreement expired at midnight on Saturday.

Furthermore, Tel Aviv has approved a temporary extension of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza for additional six weeks, coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Jewish Pesach holiday.

The plan, which is based on a proposal by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, includes the release of half of the captives held by Hamas, both alive and deceased, on the first day of the ceasefire.

The remaining captives will be freed contingent upon reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement, said Netanyahu’s office.

Hamas on Sunday slammed Netanyahu for halting humanitarian assistance to Gaza as “cheap extortion and a war crime,” stating that such step constitutes a blatant breach of the agreement.

“The mediators and the international community must act to pressure the occupation and stop its punitive and unethical measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said.

The extension of the initial phase of the ceasefire in Gaza comes while Israel is evading the implementation of the second phase, under which Israeli forces will fully withdraw from the enclave and the war will get a permanent end.

Hamas said the Israeli adoption of US proposals to extend the first phase of the ceasefire is based on arrangements that violate the ceasefire in Gaza.

The movement slammed the Israeli move as “a blatant attempt to evade the agreement and avoid entering negotiations for its second phase.”

The second phase of the ceasefire aims to facilitate the release of dozens of captives still held by Hamas.

Hamas has stated it is prepared to release all remaining captives in one go in exchange for a permanent end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.

The ceasefire took effect on 19 January after mediation by Egypt, Qatar and the US. Under the initial phase, Hamas released 30 living captives taken from Israel, including Israeli civilians and soldiers and Thai nationals.

Hamas also returned the bodies of eight Israeli captives it asserts were killed by Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

Moreover, the ceasefire allowed the entry of thousands of trucks laden with humanitarian aid to support around 2.3 million Palestinians living there, most of whom have lost their homes and access to basic services due to Israeli attacks.

The war in Gaza, one of the bloodiest of the century, saw Israeli forces killing more than 48,300 Palestinians, injuring more than 111,800 more and devastating the enclave.

The war was triggered by an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, when Al Qassam fighters stormed Israeli cities near Gaza and captured more than 250 Israelis and other foreign nationals.