By Mohamed Majed and Betul Yilmaz
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian resistance group Hamas accused Israel on Sunday of hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza under a ceasefire agreement.
“Twenty-two days from the ceasefire have passed, and the Israeli occupation still hinders the implementation of the humanitarian protocol, especially the entry of tents, fuel, and heavy machinery,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement.
The spokesman called on mediators to pile pressure on Israel “to oblige it to strictly implement the ceasefire agreement, including the entry of urgent medical and relief supplies to save the lives of our people."
On Friday, Salama Marouf, who heads Gaza’s government media office, said that humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain catastrophic as Israel still denies access to humanitarian aid.
According to Marouf, only 8,500 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Jan. 19, which is far below the 12,000 expected under the ceasefire agreement.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.