High Hamas officials say the armed groups are not interested in further discussions on the new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, but Israel continues what he calls the “star war.”
Israel said it had cut all humanitarian aid to enter Gaza nine weeks ago and later pressured Hamas to resume military attacks and release hostages.
However, Bassem Naim said “negotiations are pointless” while the lockdown is in effect.
His comments came after Israel’s security cabinet approved an expansion that allows for indefinite views of the forced displacement of the majority of Gaza’s 2.1 million population and all occupation of Palestinian territory.
Israel will also intend to replace its current aid delivery and distribution systems with those channeled through private companies and military hubs.
The UN Humanitarian Office rejected the idea, not following basic humanitarian principles and said it “seems to be a deliberate attempt to weaponize aid.”
On Monday, an Israeli military spokesman said the expanded ground attack in Gaza would attempt to bring the remaining 59 hostages home, of which 24 are believed to be alive, achieving “the demolition and decisive defeat of the Hamas regime.”
The surgery will be performed on a “large scale” and includes movements in the majority population of the Gaza Strip to protect them in Hamas-free zones,” he added.
Israeli officials explained to the media that the attacks include “holding territory and moving Gazan’s population south for its defense.” [and] “It denies Hamas’ ability to distribute humanitarian supplies.”
The second official said it would not be carried out until after President Donald Trump’s visit to the area next week, and provided Hamas what he called a “window of opportunity” to agree to a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Bassem Naim’s comments on Tuesday seem to have countered that.
“There is no point in negotiating or engaging with new proposals [Israel] We are continuing a starving war with our people in the Gaza Strip – a war that the international community, including the United Nations institutions, regarded in itself as a war crime,” he said.
Hamas also issued another statement informing Israeli ministers that the approval of the expanded attack represents a “explicit decision to sacrifice Israeli hostages.”
There was no immediate response from the Israeli government, but far-right Finance Minister Bezarel Smotrich told the meeting that Israel’s victory in Gaza “completely destroys” the territory, and that its residents “will “begin to “concentrate” in the South and “start to depart for many countries.”
Secretary of State Antonio Guterres warned that Israel’s ground operations will expand and that long-term military presence will “inevitably kill many civilians, leading to further destruction of Gaza.”
French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barott said Israel’s plan was “unacceptable” and that its government “violates humanitarian law.”
In Washington, Trump said the US will help feed Gaza people without giving details.
“People are hungry and we’re going to help them get their food,” he said. “Hamas is taking everything they bring, making it impossible.”
Israel cut off all delivery of aid and other supplies on March 2, and resumed its attack on March 18 after a two-month ceasefire collapsed, in which 33 Israeli hostages were released in Israeli prisons in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel also accused Hamas of stealing and saving aid – allegations denied by the group.
However, aid agencies warn that massive hunger is imminent unless the lockdown is over.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have said Israeli authorities are trying to shut down existing aid distribution systems they run, and are asking them to agree to provide supplies “through Israeli hubs” “under conditions set by Israeli forces.”
Israeli Army Radio reported Tuesday that Israel is proposing to distribute aid from three distribution centres in southern Rafa.
Representatives from each family in Gaza said they would be allowed to go to the centre to receive food for a week, estimated at an average of around 70kg (154 pounds) to prevent hunger. They will be screened to prevent Hamas members from joining.
The report said the distribution would be managed by American organizations and private companies, not by Israeli military. He added that aid would not be distributed anywhere else in Gaza and could turn population movements south.
A spokesman for the UN Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) said that Israel’s plan “appears to be designed to further control and limit supplies, the opposite of what is needed,” adding that aid should not be used as a way to force the population to move.
Jens Laerke said at a press conference in Geneva that the United Nations will not cooperate with the plan as it “will not comply with the core fundamental humanitarian principles of the independent provision of equity, neutrality and independent aid.”
“Fairness means that aid is provided based on needs alone, based on people trying to get them somewhere,” he said. “Then it’s neutral and independent. That’s very important. [those receiving aid] Look at neutral providers that they have nothing to fear. ”
The UN says Israel is obligated to ensure food and healthcare supplies for Gaza’s population under international law. Israel says there is no shortage of aid as it complies with international law and was loaded on thousands of heavy trucks during the ceasefire.
A Palestinian man in Gaza said he believes Israel’s proposal is “camouflage” and “we don’t intend to grant aid to the territory.”
“This is a fundamental principle that Israel is working on: extending the lockdown until Gaza reaches an exacerbated stage of hunger,” he told the BBC Arabic Gaza Today Programme.
But another man said his “first and last concerns” were receiving the supplies his family needs to survive, adding, “What really matters to us is that we want to live, eat and continue our lives.”
Israel’s reopened artillery fire and ground operations over the past seven weeks have already moved hundreds of casualties and an estimated 423,000 people, with about 70% of Gaza being placed in Israel’s designated “no-go” zones, or both, based on Israeli evacuation orders.
On Tuesday, health officials said Israel across Gaza had killed at least 37 people.
The women and children reportedly were among at least 17 people who died when the non-operated schools at the Bulay Refugee Camp, which were used as shelter for refugees, were bombed.
Israeli forces said they “attacked terrorists operating within Hamas Command and Control Center,” and they planned a planned attack.
Hamas condemned the attack as a “terrifying massacre.”
Israeli forces launched a campaign on October 7, 2023 to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack.
At least 52,615 people have died in Gaza since then, including 2,507 since Israel’s attacks resumed, according to the territory’s Hamasran Health Ministry.
