Nadeen Ebrahim, Mick Krever, Ibrahim Dahman and Mike Schwartz
A delicate truce between Israel and Hamas hangs by a thread after Israel blocked humanitarian aid into Gaza, in response to Hamas rejecting a new Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire without any commitment to end the war or fully withdraw troops.
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the agreement, calling its decision to halt humanitarian aid “cheap blackmail” and a “war crime.”
Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after the return of four bodies last week. Of the 59, 24 are thought to be alive, according to Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, aid groups and the United Nations have slammed the Israeli announcement to halt aid, with Egypt, a mediator in the ceasefire deal, saying it “unequivocally rejects the politicization of humanitarian aid and its exploitation as a tool of blackmail.”
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff plans to return to the Middle East “in the coming days to work out either a way to extend Phase I or advance to Phase II” of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, a US State Department spokesperson said on Monday.
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