Hamas condemns Israel for Rafah crossing blockade, repeated ceasefire violations

In a statement issued on Saturday, Hamas slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to delay the reopening of Rafah “until further notice,” describing it as a “blatant violation of the ceasefire terms and an evasion of commitments made to mediators and guarantors.”

Hamas said the ongoing closure has blocked the evacuation of the wounded and sick, restricted civilian movement, and prevented the entry of essential equipment for rescue operations.

The group warned that the shutdown is also hindering the arrival of specialized teams to recover bodies from under rubble and to identify the deceased, including the bodies of Israeli captives to be returned under the ceasefire terms.

The resistance group noted that Israel has violated the ceasefire 47 times since its implementation last week, killing 38 Palestinians and injuring 143 others.

Hamas said the violations reflect Israel’s continued “siege mentality” toward Gaza and its people.

“War criminal Netanyahu continues to fabricate flimsy pretexts to obstruct the agreement and evade his obligations,” Hamas stated.

In a statement on Sunday, Ismail al-Thawabta, director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, warned of the humanitarian consequences of Israel’s blockade.

“Israel continues its genocide through forced starvation by maintaining the closure of crossings and blocking food entry,” al-Thawabta said.

“Five hundred thousand surgeries are suspended in Gaza. Thirty-two thousand patients, including ten thousand cancer patients, require travel abroad for treatment.”

Al-Thawabta called on the ceasefire’s guarantors to intervene immediately and compel Israel to honor the agreement.

He added, “The occupation must also allow the entry of equipment to retrieve the bodies of its prisoners.”

Later on Saturday, Mohammed Nazzal, a member of the Hamas politburo, condemned Zionist regime’s “blackmailing of Palestinians” through the Rafah closure, despite Hamas’s adherence to the truce.

“We reject the blackmailing of Palestinians by closing the Rafah crossing, despite our commitment to the terms of the agreement,” he said.

He accused Netanyahu of exploiting the issue for "political gain" to delay the second phase of the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the resistance movement urged the ceasefire’s guarantors and mediators to “act urgently” to compel the regime to comply with the agreement’s terms, stop the massacres against the Palestinian people, and most importantly, open the Rafah crossing.

Hamas and the Zionist regime officially accepted a ceasefire proposal by US President Donald Trump on October 9, marking the first phase of a broader "peace plan."

The agreement called for halting hostilities, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, facilitating humanitarian aid to the besieged strip, and exchanging captives and abductees.

Last Monday, Hamas released all surviving Israeli captives and has returned the remains of 12 of the 28 bodies of deceased Israelis.

The resistance group has said the widespread devastation in the Palestinian territory and the Israeli military’s continuing control of certain parts of Gaza has made locating the bodies of captives extremely difficult.

Supporting Hamas’s position, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) acknowledged that retrieving the bodies would take significant time.

“The search for human remains is obviously an even bigger challenge than having the people alive being released. That is a massive challenge,” ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon said at a Geneva press briefing on Tuesday, adding that the process could take days or even weeks.

Since Zionist regime launched its genocidal campaign against Gaza on October 7, 2023, nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been martyred and over 170,000 wounded.

Even after the ceasefire took effect last week, casualties continue to rise in Gaza as more bodies are recovered from beneath the ruins of Israeli bombings.

Zionist regime is also continuing bombardment in parts of the besieged strip, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.