Israel turned the bombs back on after the first phase of the ceasefire ended without an agreement to extend to a second phase.
Over the weekend, Israeli forces struck northern Gaza. Israel blames Hamas for “not accepting a US-backed proposal for extending the truce.” They did not accept it because it did not have a commitment for Israel to end the war.
The U.S. plan, put forward by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, allowed the ceasefire to extend during Ramadan, which began on Saturday and ends on March 29. It would also extend through Passover, which is between April 12 through 19.
So what now that the second and third phases of the ceasefire are in limbo? Israel cut off aid flowing into Gaza while the U.S. stepped up weapons shipments to Israel. On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he had expedited the shipment of $4 billion in military aid for Israel. So…don’t get excited about all that savings we may incur over stopping aid to Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister thanked the U.S. for giving them the weapons to “finish the job.”
