TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel is planning to implement an escalation strategy against the Gaza Strip within a week, including cutting off electricity, killing Hamas figures, and forcing Palestinian inhabitants from northern to southern Gaza, said Israeli sources on Sunday as reported by Anadolu.
The Israeli public broadcast station, KAN, cited an unnamed source, reporting that the plan-dubbed 'Hell'-will involve a total power blackout, mass displacement, and a full-scale military assault.
The source described it as an escalation unlike any seen in the past few weeks and months.
The Israel Hayom daily added that the plan also involves cutting off water supplies and targeted assassinations of Hamas figures to pressure the Palestinian militant group into accepting a new ceasefire proposal from the United States.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it had agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Gaza during the fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover following a proposal from US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, after the end of the first phase ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Hamas had rejected the temporary ceasefire proposal and then ordered the blocking of humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza starting from Sunday.
Israel has effectively turned Gaza into the world's largest open-air prison, maintaining a blockade for 18 years and forcing nearly 2 million out of its 2.3 million residents to flee amid shortages of food, water, and medicine due to the restrictions.
Hamas has called for mediators to ensure Israel abides by the ceasefire agreement and urged immediate negotiations for the second phase. The group has condemned Israeli aid blockade as 'cheap blackmail, war crimes, and open mutiny against the ceasefire agreement.'
Netanyahu's decision to block humanitarian aid has drawn sharp condemnation from Arab countries and the international community. It has even provoked criticism from Israeli politicians and families of Israeli prisoners, accusing him of jeopardizing hostage negotiation talks.
Israel estimates that 59 hostages are still held in Gaza, with at least 20 of them believed to be alive, and they are expected to be released in the second phase ceasefire which requires Israel to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza and end the war permanently.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on January 19, officially ended at midnight on Saturday. However, Israel has not agreed to continue to the second phase agreement to end the war in Gaza.
The agreement, originally designed to be implemented in three phases, was disrupted when Netanyahu refused to engage in the second phase negotiations. He sought to secure the release of more Israeli prisoners while avoiding commitments such as ending the genocide and withdrawing from Gaza.
The ceasefire agreement has halted Israel's genocide war in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,380 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and 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 (ICJ) for its war in the enclave.
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