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GAZA - As Israeli officials warned Monday of dire repercussions if Hamas did not release the remaining hostages it holds in Gaza, advocacy groups decried reporting that Israel is planning to obliterate a crumbling six-week cease-fire with a massive escalation against the already flattened Palestinian enclave.
Addressing the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamnin Netanyahu said Hamas, which governs Gaza, will face "consequences they cannot imagine" should it fail to free the dozens of Israeli and international hostages it kidnapped on October 7, 2023.
"We are preparing for the next stages of the war—on seven fronts," Netanyahu claimed, adding that "we will not stop until we achieve total victory—returning all our hostages, destroying Hamas' military and governing power, and ensuring Gaza is no longer a threat to Israel."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz was even more blunt, vowing that "if Hamas does not release the hostages soon, the gates of Gaza will be locked, and the gates of hell will be opened—we will return to fighting, and they will face the [Israel Defense Forces] with forces and methods they have never encountered before."
These comments followed Sunday reporting by Israeli public broadcaster Kan that Israel is readying what it calls a "hell plan" to re-invade Gaza, renew the forced expulsion of its residents, and cut off the remaining water and electricity supply to a people already reeling from a 15-month onslaught and siege that's left most of Gaza in ruins; more than 170,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing; and over 2 million others displaced, starved, or sickened, according to local and international agencies.
"The latest reports of Israel preparing to resume its aggression against Gaza represent yet another blatant retreat from the original cease-fire terms that had been agreed upon by both parties," the Virginia-based advocacy group Americans for Justice in Palestine(AJP) Action said in a statement Monday.
The group continued:
The original agreement, established to halt 15 months of Israeli aggression and genocide, facilitated the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, increased humanitarian aid, and initiated a partial Israeli troop withdrawal. However, the proposed extension of the first stage of the cease-fire by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, aiming for a temporary truce over Ramadan and Passover, has been met with complications. Witkoff's new unreleased plan deviates from the framework negotiated for deescalation. Instead, it sets the stage for Israel to further entrench its occupation, siege, and genocide with full U.S. complicity and partnership.
Under Witkoff's proposal, Hamas would free half of its living hostages and the bodies of half of those who were killed or died since their abduction. Israeli officials say Hamas still has 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to still be alive.
"This moment directly results from the Trump administration's reckless and deliberate policy choices," AJP Action stressed. "[U.S. President Donald] Trump and his officials not only emboldened Israel's most extreme elements but also dismantled even the pretense of a U.S. commitment to a just resolution. If Israel resumes its assault on Gaza, the Trump administration will own it—this is the legacy of its unconditional support for Israeli aggression."
Israel's fresh threat came after it halted all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza following a Saturday decision by the country's Security Council, a move Hamas blasted as a "war crime" and cease-fire violation. Netanyahu claimed the cutoff was made "in full coordination" Trump and "his people."
United Nations Children's Fund Middle East and North Africa Director Edouard Beigbeder warned Monday that "the aid restrictions announced yesterday will severely compromise lifesaving operations for civilians."
"It is imperative that the cease-fire—a critical lifeline for children—remains in place, and that aid is allowed to flow freely so we can continue to scale up the humanitarian response," Beigbeder added.
However, a source familiar with ongoing cease-fire negotiations toldThe Jerusalem PostMonday that "nothing is currently moving on this front."
On the ground in Gaza, Palestinians continue to endure tremendous hardships—last week, local medical professionals said six infants died of hypothermia—including skyrocketing prices on essential items in scarce supply.
"Often, I find myself weighing up whether I should buy food items or buy blankets for sleeping," Hikmat al-Masri, a 44-year-old professor from Beit Lahia, toldThe Guardian Monday. "Both options are difficult and expensive."
Hassan Musa, a forcibly displaced father of eight from northern Gaza, told the British newspaper that "to subject innocent people to the deprivation of aid and to threaten them with cutting off water and food supplies is the height of injustice and criminality."
"Prices are rising without logic, making financial planning for the family nearly impossible," he added. "Even the aid we used to receive has stopped, which increases the fears of a return of famine to the north, after we thought we had overcome it."
(Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for CommonDreams where this was first published.)
