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Israel Halts Gaza Supplies Following Hamas’ Rejection of Cease-Fire Proposal

March 2, 2025 TruthUSA

The terror group is currently holding around 25 Israeli hostages.

Israel has halted the entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip after the Hamas terrorist group turned down a cease-fire proposal from the country.

Starting on Jan. 19, a six-week cease-fire was initiated between Israel and Hamas. During this period, the terror group released 25 hostages and eight bodies, and in return, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The cease-fire was scheduled to conclude over the weekend. However, Hamas announced on Saturday that they were refusing Israel’s proposal to extend the initial phase of the cease-fire.

In a post on social media platform X on March 2, the Prime Minister of Israel declared, “With the completion of the initial stage of the hostages deal and Hamas’s rejection of the Witkoff framework to continue the negotiations, to which Israel had agreed, PM Netanyahu has decided to stop the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip from this morning.”

“Israel will not agree to a cease-fire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in their refusal, there will be additional repercussions.”

Hamas is believed to be holding another 25 hostages and the bodies of 30 individuals.

The “Witkoff framework” refers to a proposal put forth by U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary cease-fire during Ramadan and the Jewish Passover period, with Ramadan ending on March 30 and Passover on April 20.

According to the proposal, Hamas is supposed to return half of all living and deceased hostages on the first day of the framework. If a permanent cease-fire agreement is reached, Hamas must release the rest of the hostages and bodies.

“While Israel has agreed to the Witkoff framework to secure the release of our hostages, Hamas has so far rejected this framework. If Hamas changes its stance, Israel will immediately engage in discussions regarding the specifics of the Witkoff framework,” stated the Prime Minister.

“Steve Witkoff developed the framework to extend the cease-fire after realizing that, currently, there was no chance of bridging the gaps between the sides on ending the conflict, and that more time was needed for negotiations on a permanent cease-fire.”

Negotiating Cease-Fire

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar expressed Israel’s readiness to negotiate the next phase, but emphasized that more hostages must be released during the negotiations. He revealed that Israel had received a side letter from the Biden administration stating that there was no automatic progression between the cease-fire phases.

“We fulfilled all our commitments [in Phase 1] until the final day, which was yesterday,” Saar noted during a press conference. “Our position is that hostages should be freed during negotiations.”

Hamas cautioned that any delay or cancellation of the cease-fire agreement would lead to “humanitarian consequences” for the hostages and reaffirmed that the only way to secure their release was by implementing the existing deal, which did not specify a timeline for freeing the remaining captives.

Hamas has expressed willingness to release all hostages at once in Phase Two, but on the condition of the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent cease-fire, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Israel is hesitant to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, its buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza. Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel was expected to reduce its presence in the corridor during Phase 1 and completely withdraw in Phase 2.

However, an Israeli official stated this week that the country will refrain from pulling out of the area to prevent Hamas from smuggling arms into Gaza.

In the meantime, the Israeli military is carrying out operations against Palestinian terror groups. As part of this effort, inhabitants are being expelled from refugee camps in Samaria, located in the northern area of the West Bank.

Previously, Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to expand operations in the refugee camps of Nur al-Shams, Jenin, and Tulkarem. Tanks were sent into the West Bank by the IDF on Feb. 23, marking the first instance in over two decades.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to the report.

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