Tánaiste 'very concerned' at reports of Israel suspending deliveries of aid supplies into Gaza

LAST UPDATE | 18 hrs ago

TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has said he is “very concerned” reports that Israel has halted the deliveries of food and aid supplies into Gaza.

Earlier today, Gaza civil defence officials claimed that Israel has launched an artillery bombardment in the south of the region as tensions escalate following the conclusion of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement.

Israel this morning announced that it will be suspending the entry of supplies into Gaza, and threatened “consequences” for Hamas if it did not accept a proposal for a temporary extension of the truce in the Palestinian territory.

In a statement, Harris said that “any threat” to the delivery of humanitarian aid into the war-stricken area “poses a serious threat to people’s lives”.

“Ireland has been supporting our UN partners to deliver aid to people in Gaza. We also have trucks with food and shelter ready to depart Jordan.

“These trucks are carrying aid donated by Ireland and will bring much-needed relief. I am concerned that a decision to halt aid entering Gaza will lead to delays in these Irish stocks reach the people they are intended for,” Harris said.

The UN, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have all spoken out against the suspension of deliveries into Gaza.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military earlier told the AFP news agency that it was investigating reports of an attack near Khan Younis, reported by the Gaza Civil Defence agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the suspension of all entry of goods and supplies into Gaza, a statement from his office confirmed. It added that Israel will “not accept” a ceasefire without the release of the remaining hostages.

“If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences,” the statement said today, the second day of Ramadan.

Militant group Hamas has slammed the move, calling it a “war crime” and saying it violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement between the two sides. The Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused the group of lying.

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“With regards to this starvation, that was a lie during all this war. That was a lie,” Saar said at a press conference.

A proposed extension of the first phase, which according to Netanyahu’s office was put forward by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would last through Ramadan and end at Passover in mid-April.

According to the Israeli statement, the extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire.

Hamas said in a statement that Netanyahu’s “decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement”.

The Palestinian group has consistently favoured a transition to the second phase of the ceasefire, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Following the announcement from Netanyahu’s office, his spokesman Omer Dostri wrote on X: “No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage.”

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose party is crucial to keeping Netanyahu’s government in power, welcomed the decision to suspend aid.

Stopping aid “until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are freed is an important step in the right direction”, he said on Telegram, calling for a renewed fight “until total victory” against Hamas.

“We have remained in government to ensure this,” he added.

Hamas called on “mediators and the international community to pressure” Israel to “put an end to these punitive, immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip”.

More than 15 months of war created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the UN repeatedly warning the territory was on the brink of famine before the ceasefire allowed a surge of aid to enter.

Includes reporting by Emma Hickey

- © AFP 2025