Zionist occupation’s disruption of ceasefire agreement coincides with $3 billion military sales from US
Hamas said on Saturday that it rejected the occupation’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, as talks in Egypt failed to produce a breakthrough, leaving the first stage of the deal set to expire without resolution on the next one.
The group’s spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, told Al-Araby TV there were no current talks for a second ceasefire phase in Gaza with the group.
According to Reuters, two Egyptian security sources said on Friday that the “Israeli delegation” in Cairo was trying to reach a deal to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal for an additional 42 days.
Talks over the second phase of the ceasefire are meant to negotiate a comprehensive end to the genocidal war on Gaza, including the return of all remaining living captives and the complete withdrawal of occupation troops from the territory.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned that “the coming days are critical” for maintaining the ceasefire deal and urged all parties to uphold their commitments.
“Next Tuesday, I will be in Cairo to join the Extraordinary Summit of the League of Arab States to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza,” Guterres said in a news conference held at UN headquarters in New York.
Guterres described the situation in Gaza as “a nexus of death, displacement, hunger, and disease,” warning that the risk of further destruction remains high.
In the meantime, the UN Secretary General voiced “deep concern” over US funding cuts to humanitarian programs, adding that the consequences will be “devastating” for people from Gaza, Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, and beyond.
“American funding directly supports people living through wars, famines, and disasters, providing essential health care, shelter, water, food, and education—the list goes on,” he said.
Amid the truce concerns, the Trump administration has approved a nearly $3 billion arms sale to the Zionist occupation, according to the State Department.
The prospective weapons sales were notified to Congress on Friday afternoon on an emergency basis.
The sales included 35,529 general-purpose bomb bodies for 2,000-pound bombs and 4,000 bunker-busting 2,000-pound bombs made by General Dynamics (GD. N). While the Pentagon said that deliveries would begin in 2026, it added, “There is a possibility that a portion of this procurement will come from U.S. stock,” which could mean immediate delivery for some of the weapons.
A second package, valued at $675 million, consisted of five thousand 1,000-pound bombs and corresponding kits to help guide the “dumb” bombs. Delivery for this package was estimated to be in 2028.
The United States will also provide the Zionist occupation with D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers for $295 million, with deliveries in 2027.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,365 Palestinian martyrs from the Zionist occupation’s genocidal war on the besieged enclave, while 111,780 people have been wounded. The Government Media Office updated its toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
