Israel said Sunday that it was suspending the entry of supplies into Gaza, with deadly attacks reported in the territory after it and Hamas hit an impasse over how to proceed with their fragile ceasefire.
As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel gave its backing to an extension it said was put forward by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal's second phase, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended," his office said in a statement.
"If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences," it added.
Hamas slammed the move, saying in a statement that the "decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement".
Gaza's civil defence agency, meanwhile, reported "artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks" east of Khan Yunis city, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Approached for comment, the Israeli army said it was "unaware of any artillery shelling in this area".
The Palestine Red Crescent, however, reported one person killed in an Israeli drone strike in the area, and one more killed in another town nearby.
The army also said it had conducted an air strike in northern Gaza targeting suspects it said had "planted an explosive device" near its troops.
Gaza's health ministry later reported at least four killed and six wounded in Israeli attacks on Sunday.
- 'Punitive measures' -
Following the announcement of the aid suspension, Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri wrote on X: "No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage."
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose party is crucial to keeping Netanyahu's government in power, welcomed the decision to suspend aid as "an important step in the right direction", calling for a renewed fight "until total victory" against Hamas.
"We have remained in government to ensure this," he added.
According to Israel, the truce extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas called on "/mediators and the international community to pressure" Israel to "put an end to these punitive, immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip".
Its spokesman Hazem Qassem later said Israel "bears responsibility for the consequences of its decision on the people of the Strip and the fate of its prisoners".
A senior Hamas official had earlier told AFP the Palestinian militant group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase.
At a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, supporters and family members of the hostages demanded the government secure their freedom.
"The current crisis in the negotiations is a deliberate crisis, orchestrated and manipulated by Netanyahu," said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is still in Gaza.
- 'Iftar on our land' -
Under the first phase, Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight others, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 captives taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.
More than 15 months of war created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the UN repeatedly warning the territory was on the brink of famine before the ceasefire allowed a surge of aid to enter.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday dismissed warnings of famine in Gaza.
"With regards to this starvation [claim], that was a lie during all this war," Saar told a press conference.
The suspension of aid comes as Palestinians in Gaza, alongside much of the Muslim world, mark the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful observe a dawn-to-dusk fast.
On Saturday evening, Gazans gathered amid destroyed buildings for a fast-breaking iftar meal as they entered their second Ramadan under the shadow of war.
"We are here in the midst of destruction and rubble, and we are steadfast despite the pain and our wounds," said Beit Lahia resident Mohammed Abu Al-Jidyan.
"Here we are eating iftar on our land and we will not leave this place."
The war has left much of Gaza in ruins, displaced the vast majority of its residents and killed more than 48,388 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry, figures the UN has deemed reliable.
It began with Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Washington has announced it is boosting its military aid to Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Saturday he was using "emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance".
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