Israel cuts off Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept new ceasefire proposal

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel faced sharp criticism as it stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if a fragile ceasefire isn’t extended.

The ceasefire’s first phase saw a surge in humanitarian aid. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the next phase Sunday hours after its first phase had ended and called Israel’s decision to cut off aid “a war crime and a blatant attack” on a truce that took a year of negotiations before taking hold in January.

Israel has denied the accusations. Throughout the war, Israel has blamed aid shortages on what it calls the U.N.’s inability to distribute it. It also accused Hamas of siphoning off aid — an allegation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated Sunday.

In the second phase, Hamas could release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. Negotiations on the second phase were meant to start a month ago but haven’t begun.

Israel said Sunday that a new U.S. proposal calls for extending the ceasefire’s first phase through Ramadan — the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend — and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20.

Under that proposal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu said. Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 35 of them believed to be dead.

The U.S. had no immediate comment. Netanyahu said Israel is fully coordinated with the Trump administration and the ceasefire will only continue as long as Hamas keeps releasing hostages.

U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Israel’s decision “alarming,” noting that international humanitarian law makes clear that aid access must be allowed. Medical charity MSF accused Israel of using aid as a bargaining chip, calling that “unacceptable” and “outrageous.”

Five non-governmental groups asked Israel’s Supreme Court for an interim order barring the state from preventing aid from entering Gaza, claiming the move violates Israel’s obligations under international law: “These obligations cannot be condition on political considerations.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the ceasefire has saved countless lives.

Hamas warned that any attempt to delay or cancel the ceasefire agreement would have “humanitarian consequences” for the hostages. The only way to free them is through the existing deal, the group said.

Families of hostages again pressed Israel’s government.

“Postponing the negotiation on the deal for everyone’s (release) can’t happen,” Lishay Miran-Lavi, wife of hostage Omri Miran, said in Tel Aviv. “Hostages don’t have time to wait for an ideal deal.”

Israel imposed a siege on Gaza in the war’s opening days and only eased it under U.S. pressure.

Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, said Israel as an occupying power has an “absolute duty” to facilitate humanitarian aid under the Geneva Conventions, and called Israel’s decision a resumption of the strategy that led to an ICC warrant.

The war began when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. It does not specify how many of the dead were combatants.

Israeli bombardment pounded large areas of Gaza to rubble and displaced some 90 percent of the population.