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Israel accused of using 'food as a weapon of war' as it is condemned for aid blockade on Gaza
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East as Israel is widely condemned for blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said yesterday that it was imposing a blockade on Gaza because Hamas would not accept a plan which it claimed had been put forward by the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to extend phase one of the ceasefire and continue to release hostages, and postpone phase two, which should, in theory, see Israel completely withdraw its forces from Gaza, in effect ending the war.
“With the end of phase one of the hostage deal, and in light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff outline for continuing talks – to which Israel agreed – prime minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease. Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” it said in a statement. “If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.”
After the announcement, Netanyahu’s spokesperson, Omer Dostri, said: “No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage.”
Egypt and Qatar were among the Arab states that said Israel’s decision violated the ceasefire deal. The Egyptian foreign ministry accused Israel of using starvation as “a weapon against the Palestinian people”. Similarly, Qatar’s foreign ministry said: “Qatar strongly condemns the decision of the Israeli occupation government to stop bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and considers it a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, (and) international humanitarian law”, adding its “rejection of the use of food as a weapon of war”.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, reacted by demanding that “humanitarian aid flow back into Gaza immediately” with the organisation’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher describing the move as “alarming”.
A spokesperson for Palestinian militant group Hamas said Israel’s blockade was “cheap blackmail” and a “coup” against the internationally mediated ceasefire agreement.
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Israeli police say they are looking for potential accomplices in the Haifa stabbing attack, according to reports. Israeli authorities said earlier that the assailant was killed.
“The incident has not concluded,” police spokesperson Ariyeh Doron was quoted as having said.
“Large amounts of police and security forces are operating in the area … After completing the search, we will declare the end of the incident.”
Elderly man killed in knife attack in Israeli city of Haifa
A 70-year-old man was killed and others injured in a knife attack in the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Monday morning, medics say.
“Paramedics and EMTs have pronounced the death of a man around 70 years old and are providing medical treatment to and evacuating four injured individuals”, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said, after the police reported the suspect was killed.
Three people, a man and woman in their 30s and a 15-year-old boy, are in a critical condition, and a 70-year-old woman has “moderate” injuries after the attack at a busy bus station in Haifa, the MDA said.
Israel accused of using 'food as a weapon of war' as it is condemned for aid blockade on Gaza
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East as Israel is widely condemned for blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said yesterday that it was imposing a blockade on Gaza because Hamas would not accept a plan which it claimed had been put forward by the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to extend phase one of the ceasefire and continue to release hostages, and postpone phase two, which should, in theory, see Israel completely withdraw its forces from Gaza, in effect ending the war.
“With the end of phase one of the hostage deal, and in light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff outline for continuing talks – to which Israel agreed – prime minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease. Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” it said in a statement. “If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.”
After the announcement, Netanyahu’s spokesperson, Omer Dostri, said: “No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage.”
Egypt and Qatar were among the Arab states that said Israel’s decision violated the ceasefire deal. The Egyptian foreign ministry accused Israel of using starvation as “a weapon against the Palestinian people”. Similarly, Qatar’s foreign ministry said: “Qatar strongly condemns the decision of the Israeli occupation government to stop bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and considers it a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, (and) international humanitarian law”, adding its “rejection of the use of food as a weapon of war”.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, reacted by demanding that “humanitarian aid flow back into Gaza immediately” with the organisation’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher describing the move as “alarming”.
A spokesperson for Palestinian militant group Hamas said Israel’s blockade was “cheap blackmail” and a “coup” against the internationally mediated ceasefire agreement.
