Resistance groups: Israel bears responsibility for ‘sabotaging’ cease-fire
Palestinian resistance groups said Sunday that Israel “bears responsibility” for the fate of captives held in the Gaza Strip and the fate of the cease-fire deal after it suspended the entry of humanitarian aid over a dispute on extending the agreement. “The occupation (Israel) bears responsibility for the consequences of its decision on the population of the (Gaza) Strip and for the fate of its prisoners” held by Hamas or other armed groups, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement. The Islamic Jihad resistance group also said Israel bore responsibility for “sabotaging” the cease-fire in Gaza.
“We, in the Islamic Jihad Movement and the resistance factions, reaffirm our commitment to the cease-fire based on the three phases, and we will continue to abide by what was agreed upon,” the group said in a statement. “The occupation is the one responsible for the consequences of sabotaging this.”
On Sunday, Israel stopped the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and reneged on the truce after the first phase of the cease-fire deal ended without agreement on continuing into a second phase.
Earlier, Israel announced it would adopt a US-backed proposal for the extension of the cease-fire in Gaza throughout Ramadan and Passover, in exchange for the release of half of the remaining captives in the Palestinian territory.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended,” his office said in a statement.
“If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences,” it added.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected extending the first phase, instead insisting on moving directly to the second stage.
This would involve the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in Gaza.
Hamas slammed the Israel’s move, saying that the “decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (cease-fire) agreement”.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported “artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks” east of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip.