On government orders, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) closed all border crossings in a dramatic decision that coincides with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the online edition of the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.

The move was approved last night at a meeting of the security cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is backed by the United States, it added.

In response, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) condemned the decision and accused Israel of planning genocide in the coastal enclave, home to more than two million people.

For its part, the government’s press office in Gaza said that Gaza was ‘once again confirming its disregard for international law’.

No trucks entered Gaza this morning and no trucks will enter Gaza at this time, Netanyahu’s spokesman Omar Dostri threatened.

Al Jazeera television suggested that the move was aimed at pressuring Hamas into accepting Israel’s demands, based on the so-called ‘Witkoff plan’.

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, proposed extending the first phase of the ceasefire for another 42 days, during which half of the Israeli prisoners, both dead and alive, would be handed over on the first day.

Hamas, however, rejects this possibility, arguing that it would lose its main bargaining chip without getting anything in return, in particular a permanent ceasefire.

The armed group is demanding that the agreed commitments be honoured, according to which the first phase of the ceasefire would be followed by a second phase that would include an end to the conflict and a complete withdrawal of the IDF.

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