Under the terms of the ceasefire Israel should have allowed mobile homes and tents into Gaza, but so far has held up delivery.
By MEE staff
Israel has continued to block the entry of temporary housing into the Gaza Strip despite an agreement to allow it as part of the ceasefire.
Tens of thousands of mobile homes are still stuck at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, awaiting Israeli permission to enter the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israel had agreed under the terms of the ceasefire to allow 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents into Gaza, but so far only 20,000 tents have been allowed in and no mobile homes.
Aid started flowing into Gaza over the weekend following a tense showdown between Israel and Hamas that threatened the ceasefire deal concluded in January.
US President Donald Trump had declared his plan to “clean out” two million Palestinians from Gaza and “own it”, alongside accusations by Hamas that Israel has failed to stick to the terms of the agreement.
After Hamas called on Israel to keep to the terms of the deal if it wanted the next tranche of captives released on Saturday as planned, Trump threatened that “all hell will break loose” unless all the living captives were released instead.
Israel then warned of a “new Gaza war of another intensity altogether” that would “allow the realisation of Trump’s vision for Gaza”.
However, intensified efforts by Egypt and Qatar succeeded in “overcoming the obstacles” hindering the agreement, AFP reported, citing Egyptian state media.
In accordance with the truce deal, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, released the three Israeli captives set for release on Saturday. In exchange, 369 Palestinians held in Israeli jails were released.
While Israel has allowed the entry of some aid convoys, consisting mostly of humanitarian supplies, no mobile homes have entered yet.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he was “committed” to Trump’s plan for Gaza.
“Just as I have committed to, on the day after the war in Gaza, there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. I am committed to US President Trump’s plan for the creation of a different Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
In violation of the truce, the Israeli army announced that it had conducted an attack on Gaza on Thursday.
Israeli fighter jets struck the Bureij camp, killing 15-year-old Anas Saqr An-Nabahin, Wafa reported.
Since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, the death toll in Gaza stands at 48,239, with 111,676 more wounded, according to the latest figures by the health ministry in Gaza.
