[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/asia/israel-will-keep-gaza-buffer-zone-minister-says-as-ceasefire-efforts-stall

Israel will keep Gaza buffer zone, minister says, as ceasefire efforts stall
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 16, 2025 19:48
Updated :
Apr 16, 2025 19:48

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 14, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli troops will remain in the buffer zones they have created in Gaza even after any settlement to end the war, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday, as efforts to revive a ceasefire agreement faltered.

Since resuming their operation last month, Israeli forces have carved out a broad "security zone" extending deep into Gaza and squeezing more than 2 million Palestinians into ever smaller areas in the south and along the coastline.

"Unlike in the past, the IDF is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized," Katz said in a statement following a meeting with military commanders, adding that "tens of percent" of Gaza had been added to the zone.

"The IDF will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and the communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza - as in Lebanon and Syria."

In southern Gaza alone, Israeli forces have seized about 20% of the enclave's territory, taking control of the border city of Rafah and pushing inland up to the so-called "Morag corridor" that runs from the eastern edge of Gaza to the Mediterranean Sea between Rafah and the city of Khan Younis.

It already held a wide corridor across the central Netzarim area and has extended a buffer zone all around the border hundreds of metres inland, including the Shejaia area just to the east of Gaza City in the north.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, including many senior commanders of the Palestinian militant group, but the operation has alarmed the United Nations and European countries.

More than 400,000 Palestinians have been displaced since hostilities resumed on March 18 after two months of relative calm, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Israeli air strikes and bombardments have killed at least 1,630 people.

Medical charity MSF said Gaza had become a "mass grave" with humanitarian groups struggling to provide aid. "We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza," Amande Bazerolle, MSF's emergency coordinator in Gaza said in a statement.

Katz said Israel, which has blocked the delivery of aid supplies into the territory, was creating infrastructure to allow distribution through civilian companies at a later date. But he said the blockade on aid would remain in place.

He said Israel would push forward with a plan to allow Gazans who wished to leave the enclave to do so, although it remains unclear which countries would be willing to accept large numbers of Palestinians.

RED LINES

The comments from Katz, repeating Israel's demand on Hamas to disarm, underscore how far away the two sides remain from any ceasefire agreement, despite efforts by Egyptian mediators to revive efforts to reach a deal.

Hamas has repeatedly described calls to disarm as a red line it will not cross and has said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza under any permanent ceasefire.

"Any truce lacking real guarantees for halting the war, achieving full withdrawal, lifting the blockade, and beginning reconstruction will be a political trap," Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.

Two Israeli officials said this week that there had been no progress in the talks despite media reports of a possible truce to allow the exchange of some of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli officials have said the increased military pressure will force Hamas to release the hostages but the government has faced large demonstrations by Israeli protesters demanding a deal to stop the fighting and get them back.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the October 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive has killed at least 51,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated the coastal enclave, forcing most of the population to move multiple times and reducing broad areas to rubble.

On Wednesday, Palestinian medical authorities said an airstrike killed 10 people, including Fatema Hassouna, a well-known writer and photographer who had documented the war. A strike on another house further north killed three, they said.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Israel's suspension of the entry of fuel, medical, and food supplies since early March had begun to obstruct the work of the few remaining working hospitals, with medical supplies drying up.

"Hundreds of patients and wounded individuals are deprived of essential medications, and their suffering is worsening due to the closure of border crossings," the ministry said.​

 

[Saif]

The boycott Bangladesh has yet to learn

IN RECENT months, as Israel’s assault on Gaza has continued to draw global condemnation, public solidarity in Bangladesh has grown louder. Rallies in Dhaka and other cities have drawn thousands, with demonstrators demanding justice for Palestinians. Social media platforms have been flooded with...

www.newagebd.net

The boycott Bangladesh has yet to learn
Sohana Samrin Chowdhury 16 April, 2025, 00:00

Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Dhaka to attend March for Gaza grand rally on April 12. | Sony Ramani

IN RECENT months, as Israel’s assault on Gaza has continued to draw global condemnation, public solidarity in Bangladesh has grown louder. Rallies in Dhaka and other cities have drawn thousands, with demonstrators demanding justice for Palestinians. Social media platforms have been flooded with expressions of outrage. Among the loudest chants at these protests is a call to ‘Boycott Israel.’ But the slogan, while powerful, raises a critical question: what does it actually mean?

For many Bangladeshis, boycott is a compelling idea, but one not yet fully understood. Does it mean cutting ties with all American products? Avoiding fast-food chains altogether? Is every western brand equally culpable in Israeli state violence? Such confusion is not surprising. What it points to, however, is a deeper problem — a lack of awareness of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and its strategic goals.

BDS was launched in 2005 by more than 170 Palestinian civil society organisations as a form of non-violent resistance against Israeli apartheid. Far from being a knee-jerk response to atrocities, the campaign is structured, inspired by the international boycott that played a key role in dismantling apartheid in South Africa. The movement centres around three demands: an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes.

What makes BDS effective is its clarity. It does not call for a general rejection of all things Western, nor does it trade in hate speech. Instead, it urges consumers and institutions to target companies directly complicit in Israeli crimes under international law. This specificity is critical. Take HP, which supplies surveillance systems used at Israeli checkpoints. Or Puma, which sponsors the Israeli Football Association, including teams based in illegal settlements. Or McDonald’s, which faced backlash after providing free meals to Israeli soldiers. These are not targeted for being western; they are targeted for their direct involvement.

There is evidence that this strategy works. In Malaysia and Indonesia, public engagement with BDS has led to notable consumer shifts. McDonald’s saw its first quarterly sales decline since 2020, in part due to boycotts across Muslim-majority countries. Starbucks’ Malaysian franchisee reported a 38.2 per cent revenue drop in the last quarter of 2023. KFC’s local operator temporarily shut down over 100 outlets in April 2024, citing economic strain linked to the boycotts.

The impact of such consumer actions is not limited to Southeast Asia. In Europe, boycotts have prompted tangible outcomes: Puma products were removed from stores in Derry, Northern Ireland. In countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway, local councils and trade unions have formally divested from companies tied to the Israeli occupation. These instances demonstrate how focused, strategic pressure can produce economic and political consequences.

Even in Bangladesh, boycott actions have shown results. When Coca-Cola aired a defensive advert in 2023 to deny any ties to Israel, it was met with public backlash. Rather than reassuring consumers, the move was widely seen as an attempt to whitewash complicity. Sales reportedly dropped by 23 per cent. The advert was withdrawn. Meanwhile, local soft drink brands such as Mojo capitalised on the moment — voicing support for Palestine and donating to relief efforts. It was not a textbook BDS campaign, but it was effective. It exposed the vulnerability of multinational corporations to well-organised consumer resistance.

This should be instructive. Boycotts are not about emotional outbursts — they are about consistent, informed and targeted pressure. The South African example remains instructive. The global anti-apartheid movement did not begin in the 1980s. It took shape decades earlier through student boycotts, university divestments, and a sustained cultural embargo. By the 1970s, UK-based trade unions and churches had divested from South African banks. In the 1980s, US universities followed suit, pressured by student-led protests to divest billions from firms operating in South Africa. International musicians refused to perform there. Airlines, sports bodies and ultimately the UN imposed bans. It took time, but it worked. The regime was financially and culturally isolated until it fell in 1994.

This is the legacy that BDS draws upon — not scattered outrage or symbolic gestures, but a coherent strategy built on moral clarity and collective discipline. The same potential exists in Bangladesh, but it demands a shift in approach.

So what should be done next?

The first step is education. A campaign cannot succeed without informed participants. Many still do not know which companies are on the BDS list and why. Resources such as bdsmovement.net, alongside local language initiatives, can close this knowledge gap. Educational tools — from infographics and public talks to mosque sermons and student events — can channel online outrage into real-world impact.

The second step lies with civil society. Universities, trade bodies and private firms in Bangladesh can lead by example. They can refuse partnerships with companies complicit in apartheid and urge local suppliers to drop problematic brands. These institutions have moral influence — they must begin to use it.

Third, the media and policymakers must play their part. If Bangladesh is to position itself as a country with a moral voice on the world stage, its domestic economic decisions must reflect that. Support for Palestine cannot be limited to slogans; it must be reflected in trade and investment priorities.

This requires confronting a set of unhelpful distractions. Every time a boycott is discussed, someone inevitably asks, ‘Why not boycott your phone too?’ Or, ‘Why are you still on Facebook?’ These are not serious questions. They are bad-faith attempts to derail the conversation. Facebook is not on the BDS list — not because it is blameless, but because the movement targets companies directly profiting from the occupation. Understanding this distinction is crucial.

Yet even as awareness grows, contradictions persist. During the recent Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, news broke that Zara would soon open its first store in the country. This was surprising, considering that Zara faced a global backlash in 2023 over an advertising campaign seen to echo scenes from the Gaza genocide — including mannequins wrapped in cloth and rubble-like backdrops. The campaign was condemned widely. Yet in Bangladesh, there was no media coverage, no political comment, no consumer outcry. While Coca-Cola was boycotted, Zara’s arrival was welcomed — a stark reminder of how selective our outrage can be.

This inconsistency is dangerous. Boycotts are not simply about avoiding certain purchases. They are expressions of shared values. If we only act when a brand makes headlines online, but remain silent as it opens shop in our malls, we risk reducing solidarity to performance. There was no public debate about Zara’s expansion. There should have been.

We must move beyond performative outrage. Bangladesh has already shown its people are willing to act. But action without clarity cannot build momentum. When brands are held to account, when local alternatives are supported, when informed choices are made — the results speak for themselves. But these outcomes require persistence, not fleeting interest.

To support Palestine meaningfully, we must first hold ourselves to account — as consumers, professionals, and citizens. Boycotts are not a purity test. They are tools. They allow us to ask: Who benefits from our spending? Who is welcomed into our economy? And whose suffering do we ignore in the name of convenience?

As Palestinians fight for the right to live with dignity and freedom, we owe it to them to ensure our economic choices do not fund their oppression. The BDS movement offers a way to act — if we are willing to follow through.

Sohana Samrin Chowdhury has worked with the International Labour Organization, UNDP and WFP, focusing on skills development, labour migration, and workplace safety policy.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli air strikes kill 11 in Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes in the early hours of Wednesday killed at least 11 people, including women and children...

www.newagebd.net

Israeli air strikes kill 11 in Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 17 April, 2025, 00:09

Palestinians inspect the damage inside a building hit by overnight Israeli strikes on Jabalia’s southwestern district of Nazla in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. | AFP photo

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes in the early hours of Wednesday killed at least 11 people, including women and children.

Israel resumed its aerial and ground offensive across Gaza from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities in the territory.

A pre-dawn air strike in Gaza City killed 10 people, including several women and children, according to civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

He said the strike targeted the home belonging to the Hassouna family in the Al-Tuffa neighbourhood of Gaza City.

‘Our teams transferred 10 martyrs and several wounded to Al-Shifa hospital after the Hassouna family’s home was targeted,’ Bassal said.

In a separate attack, a child was killed in the southern city of Khan Yunis, rescue teams said.

Top Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly stated that military pressure is the only way to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas.

On Wednesday, defence minister Israel Katz reiterated that Israel would continue to ‘relentlessly strike Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure’ in Gaza.

‘If Hamas continues to refuse to release hostages, operations will intensify and move to the next stage,’ Katz said in a statement, without specifying what the next stage would entail.

Also on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had recently killed a militant involved in a 2014 attack that resulted in the deaths of five soldiers.

Mahmud Ibrahim Abu Hisirah was reportedly part of group of militants that infiltrated Israel through a tunnel in July 2014 and killed five soldiers, the military said.

In recent years, he had served as a close aide to Ezzedine Haddad, a senior militant from Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military added.

Since Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in mid-March, at least 1,630 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s military assault since then has killed at least 51,000 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry.​

 

[Saif]

Gaza has become mass grave: MSF

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday said Israel’s military operations and blockage of humanitarian aid had turned Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those helping them...

www.newagebd.net

Gaza has become mass grave: MSF
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 16 April, 2025, 21:30

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday said Israel’s military operations and blockage of humanitarian aid had turned Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those helping them.

Israel, fighting in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, resumed operations in the Palestinian territory in March after the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire amid differences over the next phase.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, with Israel blocking humanitarian aid since March 2, before the truce disintegrated.

Medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply, the UN says.

‘Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance,’ said MSF coordinator Amande Bazerolle.

Last month, Israeli forces opened fire on ambulances in Gaza, killing 15 medics and rescuers in an incident that sparked international condemnation.

‘We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza,’ Bazerolle added.

‘With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care,’ she said.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas official says still preparing response to Israel's Gaza proposal

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Wednesday that the group is still preparing its response to an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

www.thedailystar.net

Hamas official says still preparing response to Israel's Gaza proposal

Photo: AFP

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Wednesday that the group is still preparing its response to an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

"The movement's response is still in preparation, and we affirm that there is no room for any partial deal," Mahmoud Mardawi said, insisting that the group's "weapons will not be subject to any negotiations".​

 

[Saif]

Israeli air strikes kill 40 in Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

www.newagebd.net

Israeli air strikes kill 40 in Gaza
Gaza City . Palestinian Territories 17 April, 2025, 23:59

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday. | AFP photo

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials reported that internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, resulting in at least 16 deaths, ‘most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded’.

After Israel declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone in December 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked there seeking refuge from bombardment, but the area has since been hit by repeated Israeli strikes.

Survivors described a large explosion at the densely packed encampment that set multiple tents ablaze.

‘We were sitting peacefully in the tent, under God’s protection, when we suddenly saw something red glowing — and then the tent exploded, and the surrounding tents caught fire,’ Israa Abu al-Rus said.

‘This is supposed to be a safe area in Al-Mawasi,’ Abu al-Rus said. ‘We fled the tent towards the sea and saw the tents burning.’

Bassal said that Israeli strikes on two other encampments of displaced Gazans killed a further nine people — seven in the northern town of Beit Lahia, and a father and son near Al-Mawasi.

Separately, the civil defence reported two more attacks on displaced people in Jabalia — one that killed at least seven members of the Asaliya family, and another that killed six people at a school being used as a shelter — as well as Israeli shelling in Gaza City that killed two.

The military later announced it had carried out a strike in Jabalia on what it said was a Hamas ‘command and control’ centre.

Israel said Wednesday that it had converted 30 per cent of Gaza into a buffer zone in the widening offensive it resumed in March, ending a two-month ceasefire.

Defence minister Israel Katz said this month that the military was leaving Gaza ‘smaller and more isolated’.

The United Nations said half a million Palestinians have been displaced since the offensive resumed, triggering what it has described as the most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The Israeli military said its air strikes had hit ‘approximately 1,200 terror targets’ since March 18.

The leader of Qatar, which along with Egypt and the US helped mediate the January ceasefire deal, blamed Israel on Thursday for its collapse.

‘As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,’ said Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani during a visit to Moscow.

Qatar would continue to ‘strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people’, he added.

Acknowledging Qatar’s efforts, Russian president Vladimir Putin called the war in Gaza ‘a tragedy’, saying a long-term resolution was ‘connected to the establishment of two states’, Palestinian and Israeli.

Hamas accused Israel on Thursday of attempting to starve Gaza’s 2.4 million people after Katz said the day before that Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the territory.

‘This is a public admission of committing a war crime, including the use of starvation as a weapon and the denial of basic necessities such as food, medicine, water, and fuel to innocent civilians for the seventh consecutive week,’ the group said in a statement.

During an impasse over the future of the ceasefire, Israel halted the entry of aid on March 2, exacerbating the territory’s on-going humanitarian crisis.

In parallel to the Gaza offensive, Hamas said Israel had proposed a new 45-day ceasefire through mediators that would include the release of dozens of hostages.

The proposal also called for Hamas to disarm to secure a complete end to the war, a demand the group rejects.

Two Hamas officials said Thursday that internal discussions on the truce proposal were nearly complete, with one telling AFP ‘the group will send its response to the mediators once they finish’ — possibly on Thursday.

Israel’s renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli strikes hit dozens of targets in Gaza as ceasefire efforts stall

Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war. Last month the Israeli military broke off a two-month truce that

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Israeli strikes hit dozens of targets in Gaza as ceasefire efforts stall
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 18, 2025 22:04
Updated :
Apr 18, 2025 22:04

A Palestinian man inspects the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in the northern Gaza Strip, April 18, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war.

Last month the Israeli military broke off a two-month truce that had largely halted fighting in Gaza and has since pushed in from the north and south, seizing almost a third of the enclave as it seeks to pressure Hamas into agreeing to release hostages and disarm.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would make a special statement on Saturday evening but gave no detail on what it would be about.

Palestinian health authorities said that at least 43 people were killed in strikes on Friday, adding to more than 1,600 deaths since Israel resumed airstrikes in March.

The military said troops were operating in the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan areas near the southern city of Rafah, as well as in northern Gaza, where it has taken control of large areas east of Gaza City.

Egyptian mediators have been trying to revive the January ceasefire deal that broke down when Israel resumed airstrikes and sent ground troops back into Gaza, but there has been little sign the two sides have moved closer on fundamental issues.

Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.

But he dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing "impossible conditions".

Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya's comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza.

On Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz repeated that Israel intended to achieve its war aims.

"The IDF is currently working towards a decisive victory in all arenas, the release of the hostages, and the defeat of Hamas in Gaza," he said in a statement.

The ceasefire offer it made through Egyptian mediators includes talks on a final settlement to the war but no firm agreement.

Katz also said this week that troops would remain in the buffer zone around the border that now extends deep into Gaza and cuts the enclave in two, even after any settlement.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli strikes kill 24

Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency said on Friday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people, including 10 from the same family, after Hamas signalled its rejection of Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal.

www.newagebd.net

Israeli strikes kill 24
Hamas rejects truce proposal
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 19 April, 2025, 00:32

An elderly woman sits inside a damaged building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. | AFP photo

Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency said on Friday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people, including 10 from the same family, after Hamas signalled its rejection of Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal.

The Palestinian militants’ chief negotiator dismissed what he called Israel’s ‘partial agreements’ and called for a ‘comprehensive deal’ to halt the 18-month-long war.

Khalil al-Hayya also urged international pressure to end Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza that began on March 2.

The appeal comes after the United Nations warned of worsening conditions and shortages of medicine and other essentials for the Palestinian territory’s 2.4 million besieged people.

Gaza’s civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said early Friday that crews had ‘recovered the bodies of 10 martyrs and a large number of wounded from the house of the Baraka family and the neighbouring houses’ following Israeli strikes east of Khan Yunis in Gaza’s south.

Civil defence reported at least 14 others killed in multiple Israeli strikes across the territory, including at least two strikes which hit tents sheltering displaced people.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge in such shelters while trying to escape from the war, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli military has intensified its aerial bombardments and expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip since resuming its offensive on March 18.

A previous ceasefire and hostage release deal began on January 19 but collapsed two months later. Israel wanted to extend the first phase, while Hamas insisted that negotiations be held for a second phase as outlined by former US president Joe Biden last year.

A source from Hamas said that the militants sent a written response Thursday to mediators on Israel’s proposal for a 45-day ceasefire. Israel had wanted the release of 10 living hostages held by the group, according to Hamas.

It also called for the freeing of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

A Hamas official said the proposal further sought Hamas’s disarmament to secure a complete end to the war, a demand the group rejects.

‘Partial agreements are used by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a cover for his political agenda we will not be complicit in this policy,’ Hayya said in a televised statement late Thursday.

He said Hamas ‘seeks a comprehensive deal involving a single-package prisoner exchange in return for halting the war, a withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, and the commencement of reconstruction’ in the territory.

At least 1,691 people have been killed in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,065, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hamas’s attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hayya also called on the international community to ‘intervene immediately and exert the necessary pressure to end the unjust blockade imposed on our people in the Gaza Strip’.

The United Nations warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began.

In a statement, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said no supplies had reached Gaza for a month and a half.

Gazan fisherman Abdel Halim Qanan said his family had resorted to eating turtle meat.

‘There is no food. So it is an alternative for other sources of protein,’ he said.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said the country would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza as a means of pressuring Hamas.

The blockade comes as Israel transforms large swathes of Gaza into buffer zones, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

An AFP calculation based on maps issued by the military found that the total area under Israeli control was more than 185 square kilometres, or around 50 per cent of the territory.​