Several Arab nations condemned Israel on Sunday for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, calling it a violation of international law, with Saudi Arabia denouncing it as “a tool of extortion and collective punishment,” and Qatar calling on the international community to “hold Israel accountable.”
Newsweek has reached out to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email on Sunday.
Why It Matters
The first stage of a six-week ceasefire deal to pause the war in Gaza, brokered by Qatar with significant influence from President Donald Trump’s officials, expired on Saturday. The agreement led to a halt in fighting, the return of thousands of displaced Palestinians to North Gaza, flow of aid, and the exchange of dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
At least 1.9 million people—about 90 percent of the population in Gaza—have been internally displaced by Israeli bombardments, according to the United Nations. Most people in the enclave are struggling to survive without basic necessities, as their homes and essential infrastructure lie in ruins, making aid deliveries essential.
In the past, Israel has blamed aid agencies in Gaza for what it described as ineffectively distributing resources, and said militants have stolen supplies from aid trucks.
Meanwhile, Arab nations have unanimously rejected Trump’s proposal for the U.S. “take over the Gaza Strip.” Arab leaders have swiftly condemned Israel’s halt of aid, including food and medicine, which comes at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
What To Know
The ceasefire was originally slated to have three phases, with the first complete on March 1. During the first phase, fighting largely halted and Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages from Gaza, along with the bodies of eight others. Israel, in turn, released nearly 2,000 Palestinians from custody.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Hamas had refused to accept a proposal from Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, which would extend the ceasefire to April 20, through both the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
In response, Israel halted all goods and supplies heading into the Gaza Strip and warned of “additional consequences.” During the first phase of the ceasefire, 600 aid trucks on average entered Gaza daily.
Basem Naim, a spokesperson for Hamas and senior political figure in the militant group, previously told Newsweek that “cutting the aid and closing the borders is a war crime in itself,” saying that Netanyahu “has to be punished for that.”
“It is now the role of the international community to intervene and oblige Israel to abide the signed deal to prevent destabilizing the situation further,” Naim said.
Several Arab nations and international aid organizations have condemned Israel for blocking aid, expressing strong disapproval of the move.
Israel has previously restricted aid entry and imposed strict limits on deliveries to the enclave, which has faced growing famine concerns since war broke out between Israel and Hamas in October 2023 after the Palestinian militant group launched its surprise attack on Israel. Since then, Israel has launched several air and ground invasions of Gaza.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced Israel’s decision, writing in a statement, “The use of aid as a tool of extortion and collective punishment constitutes a blatant violation of international law.”
The statement concluded: “The Kingdom reiterates its call on the international community put an end to these grave Israeli violations, activate international accountability mechanisms, and ensure the sustainable delivery of aid.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, who helped broker the ceasefire, called Israel’s action “a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, international humanitarian law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and all religious principle.”
The statement continued that Qatar rejects “using food as a weapon of war and the deliberate starvation of civilians,” adding that “it calls on the international community to hold Israel accountable and ensure the safe, continuous, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip.”
Egypt, who played a key role in mediating the conflict over the past year, said Israel was using “starvation as a weapon,” the AP reported. The country’s foreign ministry said Israel’s decision constitutes “a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” per Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, in part finding him guilty of “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.”
The Jordan Times cited Jordanian foreign ministry spokesperson Sufyan Qudah as saying Israel’s halt of aid is a “serious breach of the ceasefire agreement and risks reigniting violence in the Strip.”
Newsweek has also reached out to the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia and Jordan and contacted the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment via email on Sunday. Newsweek has also reached out to the State Department for comment via email on Sunday.
What People Are Saying
Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post on Sunday: “Massive amounts of goods have already been delivered to the Gaza Strip, and there is no shortage of essential products in the Strip. The quantities of goods are so large that they are expected to last for at least several more months…The goods transferred to Gaza have become the number one source of income for Hamas. The goods have been exploited by Hamas for the reconstruction of its terror infrastructure – Hamas is now running a billion-dollar aid industry that is being used for terrorist purposes.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday: “Any unraveling of the forward momentum created over the last six weeks risks plunging people back into despair.”
Caroline Seguin, emergency coordinator at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known as Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity providing aid in Gaza, wrote said Sunday: “Israel is once again blocking an entire population from receiving aid, using it as a bargaining chip. This is unacceptable, outrageous, and will have devastating consequences. The news has created uncertainty and fear, causing food prices to spike.”
Oxfam, a humanitarian nonprofit, wrote in an X post on Sunday: “Israel’s decision to block aid to over two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins, is a reckless act of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law.”
Tom Fletcher, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, wrote in a Sunday X post: “Israel’s decision to halt aid into Gaza is alarming. International humanitarian law is clear: We must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid. We can’t roll back the progress of the past 42 days. We need to get aid in and the hostages out. The ceasefire must hold.”
What Happens Next?
It remains unclear what the next steps are in the ceasefire or whether mediators will be able to reach an agreement soon.
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