UN chief calls for aid to be restored 'immediately'
Israel suspends aid, strikes Gaza killing four
Published: 07:03 PM,Mar 02,2025 | EDITED : 11:03 PM,Mar 02,2025
Palestinians gather to receive aid provided by UNRWA including food supplies outside a distribution centre at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. — Reuters
UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Sunday for Israel to end its suspension of humanitarian aid to Gaza 'immediately.'
'The Secretary-General urges all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities in Gaza. He calls for humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately and for the release of all hostages,' said a statement from the UN posted on X.
Earlier, Israel said it was suspending the entry of aid into Gaza, where both Israel and Palestinian sources reported Israeli military strikes as Hamas alleged a 'coup' against a six-week-old truce.
The health ministry in Gaza reported at least four killed and six wounded in Israeli attacks.
As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close with negotiations inconclusive, Israel early on Sunday approved a truce extension it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff proposed.
The extension would cover the holy month of Ramadhan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal's second phase.
As outlined by former US president Joe Biden, the second phase would bring a permanent end to the war that began on October 7, 2023.
The truce's first phase saw an increase of aid into the territory, where the war destroyed or damaged most of Gaza's buildings, displaced almost the entire population, and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had 'decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended'.
It said there would be 'consequences' for Hamas if it did not accept the temporary truce extension.
On a sandy street in Gaza City, Mays Abu Amer, 21, expressed hope the ceasefire can continue 'for a longer period of time and forever as well. Because we have so much destruction, we need a lot of time for reconstruction.'
Hamas said 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 reported 'artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks' east of Khan Yunis city in southern Gaza. 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.
Including the deaths on Sunday, Gaza's health ministry has recorded 116 people killed by Israel's military since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, substantially reducing violence.
Mediator Egypt, the Red Cross and the UN have all appealed for the truce to be maintained.
'There is no alternative to the faithful and full implementation by all parties of what was signed last January,' Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said. He called for the European Union to exert pressure on the parties 'especially the Israeli' side.
Following the announcement of the aid suspension, AFP images showed trucks loaded with goods lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to Gaza.
Hamas 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'.
The aid suspension comes as Palestinians in Gaza, alongside much of the Muslim world, mark the second day of the holy month of Ramadhan.
In November, a UN-backed assessment found 'a strong likelihood that famine is imminent' within northern Gaza.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday said he signed a declaration 'to expedite' delivery of about $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. - AFP
'The Secretary-General urges all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities in Gaza. He calls for humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately and for the release of all hostages,' said a statement from the UN posted on X.
Earlier, Israel said it was suspending the entry of aid into Gaza, where both Israel and Palestinian sources reported Israeli military strikes as Hamas alleged a 'coup' against a six-week-old truce.
The health ministry in Gaza reported at least four killed and six wounded in Israeli attacks.
As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close with negotiations inconclusive, Israel early on Sunday approved a truce extension it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff proposed.
The extension would cover the holy month of Ramadhan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal's second phase.
As outlined by former US president Joe Biden, the second phase would bring a permanent end to the war that began on October 7, 2023.
The truce's first phase saw an increase of aid into the territory, where the war destroyed or damaged most of Gaza's buildings, displaced almost the entire population, and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had 'decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended'.
It said there would be 'consequences' for Hamas if it did not accept the temporary truce extension.
On a sandy street in Gaza City, Mays Abu Amer, 21, expressed hope the ceasefire can continue 'for a longer period of time and forever as well. Because we have so much destruction, we need a lot of time for reconstruction.'
Hamas said 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 reported 'artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks' east of Khan Yunis city in southern Gaza. 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.
Including the deaths on Sunday, Gaza's health ministry has recorded 116 people killed by Israel's military since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, substantially reducing violence.
Mediator Egypt, the Red Cross and the UN have all appealed for the truce to be maintained.
'There is no alternative to the faithful and full implementation by all parties of what was signed last January,' Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said. He called for the European Union to exert pressure on the parties 'especially the Israeli' side.
Following the announcement of the aid suspension, AFP images showed trucks loaded with goods lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to Gaza.
Hamas 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'.
The aid suspension comes as Palestinians in Gaza, alongside much of the Muslim world, mark the second day of the holy month of Ramadhan.
In November, a UN-backed assessment found 'a strong likelihood that famine is imminent' within northern Gaza.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday said he signed a declaration 'to expedite' delivery of about $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. - AFP