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Hamas says truce deal must include permanent end of war, troops pullout from Gaza
Khaled Qaddoumi, a Hamas representative in the Iranian capital, says any ceasefire agreement will have to include a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
In a first agreement signed in January, Hamas and Israel agreed to a three-phase ceasefire which included the pullout of Israeli troops and initial talks for ending the war in phase two. But Israel refused to enter that phase, demanding the extension of phase one and the release of all captives without committing to a permanent halt of hostilities. It also added new and tougher demands for a revised deal before resuming the bombing of the Strip.
Yesterday, Hamas said it was studying the latest Israeli proposal, conveyed to the Palestinian group via Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Prospects for a truce have been complicated further after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said earlier today the army will stay indefinitely inside “security zones” in Gaza.
Speaking at a Palestine-related meeting in Tehran, Qaddoumi also said “the word catastrophe is not enough to describe the extremely critical situation in Gaza”, adding that Israel’s bombing is being carried out with a green light from the US and Western countries.
Rights groups, UN say Israel’s condition for aid ‘tantamount to war crime'
The Israeli minister of defence reiterated that Israel’s policy was to continue depriving the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza of any humanitarian assistance – something that human rights organisations and the UN have already warned is tantamount to a war crime.
But Israel Katz made very clear that this policy would not change because Israel is using it as leverage against Hamas, and that if Hamas does not acquiesce – does not agree to what Israel wants in a ceasefire agreement – the military attack that is ongoing, which has already shrunk the territory of Gaza by more than 60 percent, will only escalate.
We have a proclamation of policy, if you will – and a warning that if Israel resumes humanitarian assistance, it will be through a different mechanism, one where Israel would make sure that only those it deems appropriate, or it deems clear of any ties to Hamas or other groups, would be receiving that humanitarian aid, something the UN has already said it cannot take part in.
UN warns new Israeli aid controls could jeopardise Gaza assistance
In response to a statement issued by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz regarding the halt of humanitarian aid prevented from entering Gaza, the United Nations said Israel has briefed the agency and humanitarian aid suppliers on a “new authorisation mechanism that would introduce greater control over aid delivery in Gaza by Israeli forces”.
The UN stated that aid organisations already have mechanisms to ensure that aid is not diverted [to Hamas] and that they are “ready to deliver assistance to those most in need based on humanitarian principles”.
“Aid delivery into Gaza has for too long been obstructed,” the UN stated. “Further control over aid operations by a party to the conflict would risk aid not reaching the most vulnerable at a time when it is needed the most”.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is worsening: Egypt’s FM
The humanitarian and medical conditions in Gaza have become “very dangerous” due to Israel’s decision to halt aid delivery to the Palestinian enclave in early March, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.
The best solution to the problem is to stick to the ceasefire deal signed in January to see the release of the remaining captives and to put an end to the war, Abdelatty said during a joint media conference with his Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorski.
Abdelatty added that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s recent visits to Qatar and Kuwait were part of Egypt’s efforts to deliver aid to people in Gaza.
Medeival siege of 2.1 million people in 2025 and the world just lets it happen, actually cheers it on.
