GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center)Hamas confirmed that Israel, backed by unlimited American support, has been violating the ceasefire agreement from the moment it was announced on January 19. The Movement called on the international community and the United Nations to compel Israel to return to the agreement and proceed to its second phase leading to a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas, in a press conference held by its leader Osama Hamdan, reviewed the major Israeli violations after the conclusion of the first phase of the agreement.
Hamdan said that Israel’s behavior and its violations of the agreement during the first phase clearly demonstrate that the Israeli government was interested in the collapse of the agreement and worked hard to achieve that.
He regarded Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent decision to adopt American proposals for extending the first phase of the agreement, in arrangements contrary to the agreement signed under Egyptian, Qatari, and American sponsorship, as “an obvious attempt to evade the agreement and avoid entering negotiations for the second phase.”
The Hamas leader detailed, through 25 points, the total Israeli violations of the agreement which include the military field, relief and shelter protocols, the prisoners’ file, the Rafah crossing, the Philadelphi corridor, and political violations.
Regarding political violations, Hamdan pointed out that the Israeli government did not commit to starting negotiations for the second phase on the sixteenth day after signing the ceasefire agreement. “Now, they demand entering a new agreement contrary to all that has been agreed upon.”
Extortion threatening the region
Hamdan affirmed Hamas’s commitment to move forward with the three-phase agreement and transition to its second phase, “as we have committed to implementing all the terms of the agreement concerning us accurately and within the specified timelines,” holding Israel and its supporters fully responsible for the repercussions of their actions.
He condemned the “cheap extortion” practiced by Netanyahu and his extremist government using humanitarian aid as a pressure tactic in negotiations, following the decision to close the crossings and stop the flow of humanitarian aid to the stricken enclave.
Hamdan called on the international community to force Israel to open the crossings and allow the entry of life-saving humanitarian aid, a right enshrined in international law that no one has the right to tamper with.
He also urged the international community and the United Nations to work to compel Israel to return to the agreement and start the second phase of it, leading to a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and allow the relief and shelter to the people in Gaza, as well as the reconstruction of what Israel has destroyed, and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution No. (2735), and to work towards achieving a just solution to the Palestinian cause that guarantees the right to self-determination by establishing a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of refugees to their cities and villages from which they were displaced.
Hamdan said, “The war criminal Netanyahu and his extremist government bear full responsibility for obstructing the progress of the agreement, or any foolishness he may commit by overturning it, including the humanitarian repercussions related to the Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip.”
He underlined that the Israeli government is pushing to return matters to square one and overturn the agreement, through alternatives such as extending the first phase, or creating an intermediate phase, among other proposals that do not align with what was agreed upon in the signed agreement between the parties.
Hamdan confirmed that the only way to recover the Israeli captives is to adhere to the agreement and enter immediately into negotiations to start the second phase.
He added, “The mediators and guarantors bear full responsibility for preventing Netanyahu from sabotaging all the efforts made to reach the agreement and for protecting the agreement from collapse.”
Hamdan emphasized that international security and stability have become threatened in light of absolute American support of Israel, and the international silence that does not move in response to the Israeli rampage, which threatens to resume genocidal war, escalates its aggression in the West Bank, continues its aggression against Lebanon, and launches brutal assaults on Syria as well, “and the consequences of that will not be limited to our people and our nation.”
Field violations
On the level of field violations, Hamas recorded 962 field violations, documenting 77 instances of gunfire, 45 incursions by occupation forces, 37 bombardments and attacks, 5 cases of detaining drivers and fishermen, resulting in a total of 116 martyrs and 490 wounded.
He noted the continued advancement and incursion of occupation forces on withdrawal lines almost daily, especially in the Philadelphi corridor, exceeding the agreed distances by 300 to 500 meters, accompanied by gunfire, killing civilians, demolishing homes, and leveling lands.
Hamdan explained that Israel delayed withdrawing from Al-Rasheed and Salah al-Din streets and prevented the return of displaced people for two full days, in clear violation of the agreement, and continued to prevent fishermen from going out to sea to fish, while also maintaining its drone flights during prohibited periods (10-12 hours daily), having recorded 210 violations of reconnaissance and armed flights using different aircraft.
Violations of humanitarian protocols
As for violations related to relief, shelter, and humanitarian protocols, Hamdan documented the Israeli failure to comply with the entry of 50 fuel trucks daily as per the agreement, with a total of 978 fuel trucks over 42 days, averaging 23 trucks daily. The commercial sector was also prevented from importing fuel of all kinds, despite being a clear provision in the agreement.
He said that the Movement recorded Israel’s non-compliance with the agreed number of mobile homes, allowing only 15 mobile homes out of the 60,000 agreed upon, as well as a limited number of tents. They also did not comply with the entry of heavy machinery needed to clear rubble and retrieve bodies, allowing only 9 vehicles to pass, while the Strip needs at least 500 vehicles, he elaborated.
He also noted that Israel prevented the entry of construction materials needed to rehabilitate infrastructure and hospitals, as well as necessary medical equipment, allowing only 5 ambulances to operate, while refusing to allow the entry of civil defense equipment, preventing the operation of the power station and not permitting the entry of supplies needed for its rehabilitation. Israel also banned the entry of cash liquidity to banks and refused to replace worn-out banknotes, Hamdan said.
Prisoners file
In the file concerning prisoners, Hamdan pointed to a deliberate delay in the release of Palestinian prisoners by in all exchange batches that occurred during the first phase, “despite the agreement stating that they should be released one hour after the Israeli prisoners are handed over, and delayed the release of the seventh batch of the first phase for five days, under weak excuses and justifications.”
The Hamas leader added that Israel forced the released prisoners on February 15 and 26 to wear clothes bearing Nazi and racist connotations, pointing out that Israel did not commit to disclosing the names of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, having only disclosed 2,400 prisoners.
Hamdan said that Hamas documented the exposure of Palestinian prisoners to beating, humiliation, torture, and starvation until the moment of their release, and Israel refused to release the elderly female prisoner Sihem Moussa Abu Salem (70 years old) from Gaza.
Rafah Crossing and Philadelphi Corridor
In the files of the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor, Hamdan clarified that Israel continued to close the Rafah crossing to civilians in both directions, preventing the resumption of goods and trade movement through the crossing, and turned back dozens of travelers, including patients and injured individuals, after agreeing to their travel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army did not gradually reduce its forces as the mediators promised. The Israeli army forces continued to advance daily by hundreds of meters, and did not begin the withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor on the 42nd day, as had been scheduled, nor did they complete the withdrawal by the 50th day.
