Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza on Sunday after Israel suspended the entry of supplies into the Palestinian enclave — AFP GAZA, Mar 02 (Reuters/AFP): Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier that it had adopted a proposal by US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired.
If agreed, the truce would halt fighting until the end of the Ramadan fasting period around Mar 31 and the Jewish Passover holiday around Apr 20.
The truce would be conditional on Hamas releasing half of the living and dead hostages on the first day, with the remainder released at the conclusion, if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas says it is committed to the originally agreed ceasefire that had been scheduled to move into a second phase, with negotiations aimed at a permanent end to the war, and it has rejected the idea of a temporary extension to the 42-day truce.
Reflecting the fragility of the ceasefire deal, local health officials said Israeli gunfire had killed four Palestinians in separate attacks in the northern and southern Gaza Strip. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
Egyptian sources said on Friday that the Israeli delegation in Cairo had sought to extend the first phase by 42 days, while Hamas wanted to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal. Spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Saturday that the group rejected Israel's "formulation" of extending the first phase.
Israel endorses plan to
extend Gaza truce
Israel said Sunday it endorsed a proposal to temporarily extend the truce in Gaza as a bridging measure after the first phase of its ceasefire with Hamas drew to a close.
The proposal, put forward by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would cover Ramadan, due to end late March, and Passover, lasting through mid-April, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office released just after midnight.
The first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas was set to expire over the weekend without any certainty as to the second phase, which is hoped to bring a more permanent end to the Gaza war.
Negotiations have so far been inconclusive, with the fate of hostages still held in Gaza and the lives of more than two million Palestinians hanging in the balance.
According to the Israeli statement, the extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza released on the day the deal comes into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire.
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