Hamas pressed President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” to force Israel to stop the “ongoing violations” of the Gaza deal brokered by the United States last October.
The controversial body’s first formal meeting takes place on Thursday in Washington, DC as beleaguered Palestinians in the war-battered territory wait for the second phase of the peace agreement to fully come into force.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“The war of genocide against the Strip is still ongoing – through killing, displacement, siege, and starvation – which has not stopped until this very moment,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a video statement.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the Hamas-Israel truce deal began on October 10, 2025, according to the Health Ministry.
At least 1,600 others have been wounded in Israeli shelling, gunfire, and air strikes.
‘Lift the siege’
Qassem also called on Trump’s board to facilitate the entry of the committee of technocrats chosen to govern the destroyed Strip – and begin its vast reconstruction efforts to “end the suffering of the population”.
“We call for lifting the siege on Gaza and opening the crossings, and not being content with the partial and minimal opening … and the accompanying violations by the occupation against travelers,” he said.
“We warn against the [Israeli] occupation using this council as a cover to continue the war on Gaza and to prevent reconstruction.”
On Tuesday, Al Jazeera sources reported Israeli artillery shelling of the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City in the north of the Strip. Israeli tanks also opened fire with heavy machine-gun rounds in the southern city of Khan Younis.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in those attacks.
Continuing ‘obstacles’
Earlier, a wounded person arrived at al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, central Gaza, after an Israeli drone targeted a group of civilians in al-Maghraqa.
Israeli naval gunboats opened fire on fishermen off Gaza coast and detained two Palestinians. The army continues demolitions of residential areas in the north and south of the Strip.
Israel, meanwhile, also continues to severely block the entry of live-saving aid and the exit of thousands of sick and wounded people from seeking medical care abroad.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Monday less than 60 percent of crucial aid consignments from Egypt are being allowed inside Gaza.
“Humanitarian movements that require coordination with Israeli authorities also continue to face obstacles… Our teams on the ground are engaging with the authorities to clarify the constraints and seek a resolution so that our operations can move forward,” Dujarric said.
Since Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.
The board, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory’s reconstruction.
Leave a Reply