The Palestinian resistance group Hamas called on the US on Monday to pressure Israel to implement a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
“The US must compel the (Israeli) occupation to implement the ceasefire agreement as signed rather than expanding the scope of aggression,” senior Hamas member Izzat Al-Rishq said in a statement.
“Preventing the occupation from evading the agreement’s requirements is the only way to save the lives of the captives and ensure their return to their families,” he added.
Al-Rishq condemned Israel’s tightening of its blockade on Gaza, calling it an act of “sadism and a complete disregard for all humanitarian values.”
“Tightening the siege is a full-scale genocide and a flagrant war crime,” he said, calling for immediate action to “save more than two million people in Gaza.”
The Hamas leader warned that blocking essential supplies from entering Gaza directly threatens the lives of the most vulnerable Palestinians, including patients, the elderly, children, and people with disabilities.
Over 48,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 112,000 have been injured in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under the ceasefire agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 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.