Hamas for more int’l pressure on Israel

FE Team | Published: December 10, 2025 22:26:03

A woman takes her children to school on a horse cart in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. — AFP

JERUSALEM, Dec 10 (AP): Hamas on Tuesday called for more international pressure on Israel before the militant group moves forward with the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, with a Hamas leader saying it wants Israel to open a key border crossing, cease deadly strikes and allow more aid into the strip devastated by the two-year war.
The demand came as Israel's government says it is ready to move into the next and more complicated phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point ceasefire agreement, while calling on Hamas to return the remains of the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza as envisioned in the deal.
Husam Badran, a member of Hamas' political wing, called for the "full implementation of all the terms of the first phase" before moving forward, including an end to what he called the continuing demolition of Palestinian homes in the majority of the territory still controlled by Israel.
Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 376 Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold on Oct. 10, according to Palestinian health officials.
Badran said it was not possible to enter the second phase of the ceasefire unless the steps he demanded were taken - remarks that reflect a hardening of tone from Hamas.
However, the group has little leverage in ceasefire negotiations and could come under heavy pressure from regional powers like Qatar and Turkey to not hit the brakes on the fragile truce.
Israel has also accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire and says its recent strikes in Gaza are in retaliation for militant attacks against its soldiers, and that its troops have fired on Palestinians who approached the "Yellow Line" - a vague line between Israeli-controlled territory and the rest of Gaza.
It says those killed were suspected militants who posed a threat to troops, but it appears at least some were civilians who ventured too close to the line, and those killed have included women and children.
As a humanitarian crisis continues in Gaza, the United Nations and other aid organizations said that not nearly enough aid is entering the territory, parts of which have faced famine.
Under the ceasefire deal, the number of trucks of supplies was supposed to ramp up to at least 600 a day. For the past month, the U.N. has recorded an average of around 120 trucks of aid entering Gaza. The figure does not include commercial trucks, whose precise numbers are not known.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid entry, has said 600-800 trucks are entering daily.
But the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said in its latest weekly report that many of the commercial goods in the market remain unaffordable to many Palestinians, and "dietary diversity remains poor, with essential protein sources still largely unavailable."
The agency also said the entry of medical supplies has "not increased in any meaningful way" and some hospitals still face severe shortages of essential drugs and supplies.