Israel blocks aid into Gaza as ceasefire standoff escalates

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Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza 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, Reuters reports.

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 Ramazan and Passover periods, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired.

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 conflict, and it has rejected the idea of a temporary extension to the 42-day truce.

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