Hamas said on Sunday that Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to halt humanitarian aid into Gaza is a ‘cheap blackmail’ and a ‘coup’ on the ceasefire agreement, urging the mediators to compel the occupation to end the punitive measures against Gaza.
Hamas slammed Israel’s suspension of supplies and aid entering Gaza, describing it as a “war crime” and a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
“This decision complicates matters and affects the negotiation process, and Hamas doesn’t respond to pressures,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said.
The Palestinian group wants phase two of the deal to go ahead as originally negotiated, with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Hamas spokesman said: “Netanyahu’s decision to stop aid going into Gaza once again shows the ugly face of the Israeli occupation… The international community must apply pressure on the Israeli government to stop starving our people.”
It previously said it would not agree to any extension of phase one without guarantees from the US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators that phase two would eventually take place.
