Israel blocked aid trucks from entering Gaza on Sunday as tensions rise over the future of a ceasefire agreement, which has halted fighting for the past six weeks. Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Israeli gunfire killed four Palestinians, while Hamas has condemned Israel’s actions as “blackmail.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has agreed to a U.S.-proposed temporary truce that would halt fighting until March 31 (end of Ramadan) and April 20 (Jewish Passover), but only if Hamas released half of the remaining hostages immediately. However, Hamas insists on advancing to the second phase of an earlier agreement, which includes negotiating a permanent end to the war.
The conflict, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages, has resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians and left Gaza devastated. Israel remains firm that Hamas must have no role in postwar Gaza, while Hamas insists on being involved in any future administration.
