Israel and Hamas have traded accusations that the other is delaying the second phase of the US-brokered peace plan in Gaza.
The accusations on Sunday followed the killing of a senior Hamas commander near Gaza City, while Israel said Palestinian groups were refusing to hand over the remains of the last captive and seeking to “remilitarise”.
In a video statement released on Sunday, Hamas’s Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya, confirmed the killing of senior commander Raed Saad in an Israeli attack in Gaza the previous day. He accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and jeopardising the United States-brokered peace plan.
“The continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement … and latest assassinations that targeted Saad and others threaten the viability of the agreement,” al-Hayya said.
He called on mediators – US President Donald Trump in particular – “to work on obliging Israel to respect the ceasefire and commit to it”.
Phase one of the October truce called for a cessation of hostilities, the return of living captives and prisoners and the remains of the dead, and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the enclave.
Once all of those conditions were fulfilled, phase two, which is to include an Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian disarmament and a formal end to the war, could begin.
However, since the ceasefire began on October 10, Israel has continued to attack Gaza on a daily basis, carrying out nearly 800 attacks and killing hundreds, according to authorities in Gaza, while blocking the free flow of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Israel is awaiting the return of the remains of the last captive, Ran Gvili, which it says is a condition of moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday struck a defiant tone over the killing of Saad, accusing Hamas of violating the principles of the Trump peace plan.
Describing the slain commander as “the primary figure in charge of Hamas’s effort to build up its strength and arm itself within the Strip”, Netanyahu accused him of “conducting remilitarisation”.
“[Saad] was working to replenish weaponry and smuggle weaponry,” said the Israeli leader, adding the alleged actions represented “a total violation of the principles Hamas supposedly accepted by adopting the Trump plan”.
Netanyahu also spoke of the efforts to secure the return of the remains of Gvili, whose body is the last of the Israeli captives to be delivered to Israel.
‘We decide’
The claims come amid reports of tension between the Netanyahu and Trump administrations over the issue.
Israeli media outlets have reported that Israel’s key ally and the chief sponsor of the ceasefire agreement is pushing Israel to swiftly progress to the second phase of the agreement, while Israel insists that Gvili’s remains must be returned first.
“We are nearing the end of the first phase,” said Netanyahu. “We also wish to return, and are working to return, Ran Gvili”, he continued, insisting that his government is doing “a great deal on this matter, including activities carried out here, and also in Cairo and in other places”.
Seemingly with one eye on the US pressure, the prime minister stressed that Israel would act with autonomy in its approach to the issue.
“Our policy will remain very forceful, and it is an independent one,” he said.
“We decide on the actions; we decide on the responses. We decide what needs to be done to ensure the security of Israel and the security of Israeli soldiers.”
