Israel blocks entry of mobile homes and heavy equipment into Gaza after hostage release

Gaza authorities accuse Israel of breaching ceasefire as reconstruction efforts stall

Bulldozers and lorries carrying caravans wait to enter Gaza at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. AFP

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Israeli military checkpoints have blocked the entry of mobile homes and heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, defying its commitments under the ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to the Gaza government media office on Sunday.

Lorries carrying caravans, along with bulldozers and road rollers needed for removing the rubble and paving the way for possible reconstruction efforts in the war-ravaged enclave, have been parked outside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt for nearly two weeks awaiting Israeli permission to enter, border officials told The National on Sunday morning.

Though hundreds of aid lorries have been entering Gaza daily – despite several rounds of searches and inspections at several Egyptian and Israeli checkpoints – the entry of supplies for shelter, including tents and mobile homes, have been blocked since the ceasefire took effect, a source from the Egyptian Red Crescent also confirmed.

Despite talks in Cairo on Wednesday between Hamas, Egyptian and Qatari officials, which gave the green light for the aid to pass, according to a Hamas spokesman on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not approve the entry of caravans and heavy equipment during recent security consultations, according to a report by Israeli state broadcaster KAN.

The 15-month war in Gaza claimed the lives of more than 48,000 Palestinians since Israel launched a brutal military campaign on the enclave on October 7, 2023.

The fragile ceasefire in place for about a month has been breached several times by Israeli troops, according to Palestinian rights groups.

“The occupation's announcement of refusing to allow mobile homes and heavy equipment is a clear evasion of its commitments and obligations that it signed under the ceasefire agreement and the attached humanitarian protocol,” the Gaza government media office said.

“It is tantamount to an explicit declaration of its failure to comply with the agreement.

“The catastrophic living conditions that our people in Gaza are experiencing as a result of the war of extermination and the humanitarian suffering they are enduring cannot tolerate stalling, procrastination, or evasion of the entry of all shelter supplies and other necessities,” it added.

Hamas fighters from the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades arrive before a handover ceremony of Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Bloomberg

Israel and Hamas completed their sixth exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, with just more than two weeks remaining in the initial phase of their fragile Gaza ceasefire.

Three Israeli hostages – Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, 46; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29 – were freed by Hamas militants in the southern city of Khan Younis.

In return, Israel released 369 Palestinian detainees, including 36 serving life sentences.

The exchange comes as tension in Israel remain high, with Mr Netanyahu's far-right allies pushing for the war to resume in early March with the goal of destroying Hamas, while many Israelis urge the government to secure the release of all remaining hostages before time runs out.

Mr Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for his leadership and firm stance that helped secure the release of the three Israeli hostages from Gaza.

“The combination of the reinforcement of IDF forces around the Gaza Strip and President Trump's firm stance led to the release of three of our hostages today – despite Hamas's earlier refusal to release them,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Mr Netanyahu also expressed appreciation for Mr Trump's “full support for Israel's decisions regarding the Gaza Strip going forward”.

As the US takes a hardline pro-Israel position on Gaza, the enclave’s government office called on mediators and the international community to “stand up to their responsibilities and respond immediately to the priorities that the Gaza Strip needs, and put an end to this ongoing suffering, by pressuring the occupation and obliging it to refrain from reneging on its commitments”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel where he was set to meet officials on Sunday. The visit marked the beginning of his first trip to the region.

The blocked aid comes amid recent statements by Mr Trump, who has proposed plans for a US takeover of Gaza and turn it into a “riviera of the Middle East”, while ethnically cleansing the enclave of Palestinians and pushing for Egypt and Jordan to absorb the displaced population.

Egypt is seeking to convene an Islamic summit to broaden opposition to Mr Trump's Gaza proposals, while the Arab League is pushing for a reconstruction conference in Cairo to help rebuild the war-torn enclave. It is expected to lay out its own Arab-led reconstruction plan for Gaza.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, with the population struggling to access basic necessities and shelter, the international community faces mounting pressure to ensure Israel upholds its commitments under the ceasefire agreement and allows the unimpeded entry of vital aid.