Report
Israel blocks aid to Gaza and people will starve
The decision not to let aid in will have catastrophic consequences, in part because of the already existing delays to trucks entering Gaza in recent weeks.
“The stop to humanitarian aid means Palestinians will not eat. It's as simple as that,” were the very harsh words with which Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary summed up the decision announced on Saturday morning by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: a stop to the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“With the end of phase one of the hostage deal,” Netanyahu's statement reads, “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.”
The “outline” in question refers to the plan put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, which the Israeli cabinet approved on Friday evening: no move to phase two of the ceasefire deal (which was supposed to start on Saturday), but an extension of phase one until April 20 with new conditions for maintaining the ceasefire: namely, the release of half of the 59 Israeli hostages still in Gaza (less than half of whom are believed to be alive) on the first day of the new agreement and the second half at the end, a time frame that would encompass both the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and Jewish Passover.
According to the U.S. envoy, during this extended ceasefire period, there should be discussions about the future and a permanent end to the war. Negotiations on the end of the war should have already started a month ago: according to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, on the 16th day after the ceasefire went into effect, i.e. on January 19, the negotiating teams were supposed to sit down at the table once again to work out the details of phase two, which would involve the Israeli army's withdrawal from Gaza and the end of the offensive.
However, that never happened. Israel, on Netanyahu's orders and despite protests from the hostages' families, boycotted the dialogue by postponing the discussion from one week to the next and failing to respond to Hamas' proposal: the Palestinian Islamic movement has repeatedly said it was willing to release the 59 hostages all at once in exchange for Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war.
Now Netanyahu is forcing its hand, in the usual way: collective punishment for the Palestinians, who are already exhausted, starving and without shelter. The decision not to let aid in will have catastrophic consequences, in part because of the already existing delays to trucks entering Gaza in recent weeks. Because of the Israeli blockades, the agreement has been repeatedly violated: there haven’t been 600 daily trucks allowed into the Strip as planned, no heavy machinery needed to remove the rubble has been allowed in, only 19,000 of the planned 200,000 tents have been allowed to enter, and none of the 60,000 mobile homes intended for the civilian population have gone through.
In Gaza and Tel Aviv, the morning mood couldn’t have been more different: reporters on the ground reported that the Palestinians were desperate, while Israeli government ministers gloated. Finance Minister and extreme right-wing figure Bezalel Smotrich spoke of “an important step in the right direction”: “Now we need to open [the gates of hell] as quickly and deadly as possible on to the enemy, until complete victory.”
Foreign Minister Sa'ar blamed Hamas for rejecting Witkoff's proposal, thanked Netanyahu for the aid freeze and said that Israel was not to move into the second phase of the ceasefire “for free” – regardless of the provisions of the agreement his government signed. Education Minister Kish spoke of an “important and correct” decision, while Communications Minister Karhi wished for a “rain of fire and brimstone” against Hamas.
The former National Security Minister, the ultranationalist and fascist Itamar Ben-Gvir, was also celebrating. After all, he has been calling for starving Gaza for almost two years: “Better late than never,” he wrote on X. “Now is the time to open the gates of hell—cut off electricity and water, return to war, and, most importantly, not settle for only half the prisoners.”
Hamas’s response came quickly: after reiterating it was ready to move immediately to the second phase, it accused Tel Aviv of a “blatant coup” against the ceasefire and a “war crime” and called on the mediators to intervene to force Israel to comply with the agreement it signed in mid-January. Netanyahu is boycotting that agreement in every way, wanting a free hand so he can resume the offensive.
On Saturday, in the north of the Strip, people mourned another victim of an Israeli drone strike – which never stopped – and in Khan Younis a tank killed four Palestinians. The entire population remains waiting. Amid apocalyptic destruction, without enough food, deprived of their homes, their right to health, education and a decent life, they are now witnessing a repeat of what happened 16 months ago: Israeli ministers and politicians using hunger and thirst as weapons of war.
It was precisely such words and such decisions that in January 2024 persuaded the International Court of Justice to accept the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, and which in mid-November led the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Gallant.
War crimes are being openly announced and committed, while European countries – signatories to the Rome Statute and members of the ICC – are vying to reassure Netanyahu that in no way would they ever arrest him.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/israele-blocca-lingresso-di-aiuti-a-gaza on 2025-03-03