Truce standoff: Israel blocks aid into Gaza

Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.

- Reuters

JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier that it had adopted a proposal by US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramzan and Passover periods, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired.

If agreed, the truce would halt fighting until the end of the Ramzan fasting period around March 31 and the Jewish Passover holiday around April 20.

The truce would be conditional on Hamas releasing half of the living and dead hostages on the first day, with the remainder released at the conclusion, if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire.