Several Arab nations and rights organizations have condemned Israel’s decision to end deliveries to the Gaza Strip, calling it a blatant violation of the cease-fire and international law using famine as a weapon.
Israel blocked the entry of assistance expeditions to Gaza on Sunday, a few hours after the first phase of its ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group of Hamas, which raises fears of hunger and more difficulties during the sacred month of Ramadan which started during the weekend.
Egypt and Qatar, who mediated the talks between Hamas and Israel, as well as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, has published statements criticizing the Israeli movement to block food, medication and fuel in the band.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said it “firmly condemns the Israeli government’s decision to block humanitarian aid and the close passages used for rescue efforts”.
The ministry said that the actions violated the Fourth Geneva Convention and “all religious principles”. The Fourth Geneva Convention, adopted in 1949, provides humanitarian protections to civilians in war areas.
Qatar also condemned Israel’s decision on Sunday evening to block the aid to Gaza and underlined a “firm rejection of the use of food as a weapon of war and the famine of civilians”.
“We call on the international community to oblige Israel to ensure the safe and lasting entry of humanitarian aid without obstacles,” said the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said: “The kingdom condemns and denounces the decision of the Israeli occupation government to end humanitarian aid in Gaza, using it as a tool for blackmail and collective punishment.”
He said that the decision was “a direct assault on the principles of international humanitarian law in the midst of the current humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian people”.
Jordan said the Israeli move threatens to “rekindle the situation in the sector”.
“We underline the need for Israel to stop using famine as a weapon against the Palestinians and innocent people,” said his Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Reporting from Gaza City, Hani Mahmoud of Tel Aviv Tribune said that Israel again uses “food and water as a war weapon for political purposes”.
“Regarding water, for example, 80% of Gaza tanks were completely destroyed with the desalination infrastructure. There is therefore fully the dependence of trucks that transport water supplies, ”said Mahmoud.
“Hospitals, on the other hand, are still in difficulty. And with the decision to maintain all the assistance to Gaza, including medical supplies, they are likely to continue to fight to provide care to vulnerable groups, “he added.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said: “Without access to help, people’s life is again on a knife.”
The regional director of the Norwegian Refugee Council for the Middle East and North Africa, Angelita Caredda, also said that blocking aid to Gaza would push its civilian population “beyond the collapse”.
“The government of Israel must immediately overthrow this decision. International actors must do everything in their power to guarantee access to the Gaza curriculum vitae, so that aid reaches those who need it without further delay or disturbance, “Caredda said in a statement.
Hamas rejects the new ceasefire proposal
Hamas accused Israel on Monday of trying to derail the next phase of ceasefire talks and called Israel’s decision of cutting the aid “a war crime and a blatant attack” against a truce that took a year of negotiations before settling in January.
On Sunday, Israel said that he would support a new proposal from the United States which calls for prolonging the ceasefire via Ramadan and Jewish holidays in Passover, which ends on April 20.
Under this proposal, Hamas would release half of the captives on the first day and the rest when an agreement will be concluded on a permanent cease-fire, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Hamas rejected the proposal, claiming that it would only release the captives according to the original terms of the agreement, which stipulated that Israeli forces would definitively withdraw from Gaza and would end the war.
The cease-fire agreement interrupted the War of Israel against Gaza, which killed more than 48,380 people, mainly women and children, and left the Ruin enclave.
Last November, the International Criminal Court published arrest mandates against Netanyahu and its former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for his war against the enclave.
