Key points
- Plan also involves cutting water supplies
- Qatar and Jordan condemn Gaza aid pause
- Israel to also carry out targeted assassinations
ISLAMABAD: Israel will launch an intense military campaign within a week, cutting electricity, targeting Hamas leaders and forcing residents of northern Gaza south, according to media reports.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, citing unnamed informed sources, reported that the plan—dubbed “Hell”—will include the complete cutoff of electricity, mass displacement and a full-scale military offensive.
The sources described it as an unprecedented escalation compared to recent weeks and months.
The plan also involves cutting water supplies and carrying out targeted assassinations to pressure Hamas into accepting a new US proposal, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Israel blocks aid
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.
The Israeli decision came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse after the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase drew to a close.
Early on Sunday, Israel had announced a truce extension until mid-April that it said United States Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed.
Hamas rejects extension
But Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal’s second phase that could bring a permanent end to the war.
With uncertainty looming over the truce, both Israel and Palestinian sources reported Israeli military strikes in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, whose health ministry reported at least four people killed.
“Blatant violation”
Mediator Qatar on Sunday accused Israel of violating a ceasefire deal in Gaza by halting aid to the Palestinian territory, as talks to continue the truce stalled, AFP reported.
“Qatar strongly condemns the decision of the Israeli occupation government to stop bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and considers it a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, (and) international humanitarian law,” the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said in a statement adding its “rejection of the use of food as a weapon of war”.
Jordan condemns Israel
Jordan on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision to stop humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip, warning that it could reignite the fighting largely halted since a truce went into effect six weeks ago.
Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah said in a statement that “the Israeli government’s decision… threatens to reignite the situation in the Strip”, adding that Israel must “stop using starvation as a weapon against innocent Palestinians who are under siege, especially during the holy month of Ramadan”.
