Hamas Blames Israel, Board of Peace for Gaza Crisis

Hamas has blamed Israel and the Trump-led Board of Peace for the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying a winter storm that flooded displacement camps has exposed the failure to carry out the ceasefire agreement's humanitarian provisions.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the group said Israel and the Board of Peace bore full responsibility for the worsening plight of displaced Gazans, the continuing blockade and the obstruction of relief efforts.
Hamas said the widespread damage caused by the recent rainstorm, which submerged displacement camps and residential areas, was a direct result of Israel's blockade and its reluctance to implement the ceasefire agreement's humanitarian protocol.
"As winter intensifies, the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people living under extremely harsh humanitarian conditions in shelters and damaged tents continues to worsen," the group said.
According to Gaza's Government Media Office, flooding affected 70,000 tents, while nearly 400,000 displaced people are living in areas highly vulnerable to further flooding. The Palestinian Civil Defence said it had received more than 1,500 emergency calls, warned that over 2,000 buildings were at risk of collapse and said at least 300,000 tents were needed to provide adequate shelter. The storm caused an estimated three million dollars in damage.
Hamas said Israel continued to block the entry of urgently needed shelter supplies, including prefabricated housing units, reconstruction materials, heating equipment and civil defence resources, compounding the crisis as temperatures fall.
The group also criticised the Board of Peace and its executive director, Nickolay Mladenov, for what it called their passive stance towards Israeli ceasefire violations, saying their inaction effectively provided cover for the continued breaches. It urged the board to assume its humanitarian and moral responsibilities and to take serious steps to compel Israel to meet its obligations.
Hamas further called on the mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire to intensify their efforts to ensure the full implementation of the humanitarian protocol, to ease the flow of aid and shelter supplies, and to press Israel to allow the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to enter the territory and carry out its responsibilities without delay.
The group also urged the international community and Arab and Islamic countries to take urgent action to break the blockade and ensure the delivery of essential supplies, including shelter materials, medicine and food, and to end what it described as international silence and inaction in the face of Palestinians' suffering.
The statement comes as talks aimed at permanently ending the war under the US president's peace plan have stalled. The ceasefire has been in place for more than a year, but reconstruction has yet to begin, with Hamas saying it will not fully disarm until Israel withdraws entirely from Gaza, while Israel maintains it will not leave until Hamas gives up its weapons.