GAZA: Israeli fire killed at least two people in Rafah and wounded three others in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, raising fears among Palestinians that the ceasefire could collapse altogether after Israel imposed a total blockade on the shattered enclave.
A first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas that began in January ended over the weekend with no agreement on what will happen next.
Hamas says an agreed second phase must now begin, leading to a permanent Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war. Israel has instead offered a temporary extension into April, with Hamas to release more hostages in return for Palestinian detainees, without immediate talks on Gaza’s future.
Later on Monday, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Israel’s demand to extend the first phase of the ceasefire was pushing progress back to zero.
“The mediators and guarantors bear full responsibility for preventing (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu from sabotaging all efforts made to reach the agreement and for protecting the agreement from collapsing,” Hamdan told a news conference.
Two Israeli government officials said mediators had asked Israel for a few more days to resolve the standoff.
In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, plans to return to the region in the coming days to work out a way to either extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal or advance to the second phase.
“The President has made clear and Secretary Rubio has repeatedly said all the hostages must be released immediately, and that includes American hostages,” the spokesperson added.
Israel raised the stakes on Sunday by imposing a total blockade on all supplies, including food and fuel, meant to sustain the 2.3 million Gazans living among ruins after the 15-month conflict.
Hundreds of lorries carrying supplies were backed up in Egypt and denied permission to enter. Gaza residents said shops had been swiftly emptied of all supplies and the price of a sack of flour had more than doubled overnight.
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“Where will our food come from?” asked Salah al-Hajj Hassan, a resident in Jabalia on Gaza’s northern edge, where families have returned to destroyed homes to live in the rubble. “We are dying, and we don’t want war or the alarm bells of displacement or the alarm bells of starving our children.”
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