Netanyahu Cuts Off Aid to Gaza After Hamas Reportedly Rejects Trump Ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel will be halting all movement of goods into Gaza, following Hamas’s apparent rejection of a ceasefire proposal suggested by President Donald Trump’s envoy.

As Breitbart News reported Saturday, “Israel accepted a new proposal by the Trump administration on Saturday night, under which all of the 63 remaining hostages would be released over the course of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, en route to a permanent ceasefire.”

It was not clear at the time what Hamas’s response would be to the proposal, which had been conveyed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

In a statement Sunday morning Israel time, Netanyahu’s office said (translated from Hebrew via the Government Press Office):

With the conclusion of the first stage of the hostages deal and in light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff framework for the continuation of the talks, to which Israel has agreed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted. Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences.

Trump has said that Israel has a free hand to respond to Hamas. He has expressed shock at the treatment of Israeli hostages by Hamas, and has invited some of the freed hostages to visit him at the White House.

Of the 63 remaining hostages, 24 are thought to be alive.

Many Israelis have long objected to the idea of allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza while Hamas is still holding Israeli hostages — especially because the aid does not apparently reach the hostages, who are being starved.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.