Cutting off essential supplies to Gaza could follow Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to block delivery of humanitarian aid

On Monday afternoon, two friends, Khaled al-Shaer, 60, and Musa Qishta, 59, were walking toward their destroyed homes in the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border with Gaza. They had gone out for a stroll to pass the time until that day’s Ramadan fast ended at sunset.

Israel has cut off the entry of all food and other goods into Gaza in an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of its war with Hamas.

Israel has introduced what it said was a new U.S. ceasefire plan and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.

Israel on Sunday blocked aid flowing into Gaza, where a six-week truce enabled the entry of vital food, shelter and medical assistance, prompting the UN to call for an immediate restoration of humanitarian assistance.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the decision to suspend aid was made in coordination with the Trump administration.

The announcement signaled a breakdown in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, the first phase of which expired Saturday with no clear next steps.

The United States and Israel have both rejected an alternative plan to rebuild Gaza after it was adopted by Arab states at a Tuesday summit.Egypt's plan — which would cost an estimated $53 billion US — would prevent mass displacement of the enclave's population of roughly two million Palestinians.

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hamas on Monday with unimaginable consequences if it did not return hostages held in Gaza, while the Palestinian group accused his government of sabotaging the truce.