By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged on Friday the prevention of fuel entry and reduction of humanitarian aid reaching the Gaza Strip.
“Israel should withhold fuel from Gaza and reduce the humanitarian aid that enters the strip,” the Israeli minister said on X.
“Israel should only declare humanity in exchange for humanity, but we will not agree to a deal that would jeopardize the future of the State of Israel,” he added.
Last Friday, US President Joe Biden said Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave, supporting the deal.
Ben Gvir had threatened to dissolve the Israeli government if it accepted a hostage exchange deal and a cease-fire with the Palestinian group Hamas.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara