Arab states and UN condemn Gaza aid blockade by Israel

Several Arab states and the UN have condemned Israel for blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

Egypt and Qatar said the Israeli move on Sunday violated a ceasefire deal, while UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described it as “alarming”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country acted because Hamas was stealing the supplies and using them “to finance its terror machine”.

He also accused the Palestinian group of rejecting a US proposal to extend the ceasefire in Gaza, after it expired on Saturday. Israel said it had approved the proposal.

A Hamas spokesman said Israel’s blockade was “cheap blackmail” and a “coup” against the ceasefire agreement.

The ceasefire deal halted 15 months of fighting between Hamas and the Israeli military, allowing the release of 33 Israeli hostages for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

In a statement on Sunday, Qatar’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns” the Israeli decision, describing it as “a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement” and “international humanitarian law”.

In Egypt, the foreign ministry accused Israel of using starvation as “a weapon against the Palestinian people”, the AFP news agency reported.

Both Qatar and Egypt helped to mediate the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia expressed its “condemnation and denunciation” of the Israeli aid blockade, the foreign ministry said.

Credit: bbc.com

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