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Palestinian in the Gaza Strip fear a return to severe starvation they experienced during the course of Israel's 15-month-long genocidal war after the far-right Israeli government's decided to block the entry of goods and fuel onÌý2 March, as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began.

The Israeli decision came after the first phase of a ceasefire deal that lasted 42 days ended and in response to Hamas's rejection of a US proposal to extend the agreement's first phase of the agreement. Hamas demanded the implementation of the agreement's second phase, which includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the besieged coastal enclave, which Israel seems to be trying to evade.Ìý

The new Israeli restrictions are expected to worsen Gaza's humanitarian situation, especially since it occurs with the advent of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Fears of famine

Inside the Abu Iskandar market in Gaza City, Mohammed Al-Firani, 42 years old, the head of a family of six, was busy buying vegetables and food supplies in large quantities.

"Israel's decision to stop the entry of goods into Gaza portends a severe famine. People here are afraid of what is coming, so they buy goods in quantities that exceed their daily needs," Al-Firani told °®Âþµº.

"What is most painful about this decision is that it came during the holy month of Ramadan, when people need vegetables and food supplies to prepare iftar," he noted.

For his part, vegetable seller Hassan Abu Rami openly spoke about his concern about the coming days. "Since the announcement of Israel stopping the entry of goods, the market has turned upside down," he said to °Õ±·´¡.Ìý"As soon as people heard the news, they rushed to the market in an unprecedented way. Prices began to rise rapidly, as if we were on the verge of a new famine."

He explained that vegetable prices began to rise, with the price of tomatoes increasing from 12 shekels (about $3.3) to 22 shekels (about $6), and it has become difficult to find varieties of vegetables due to the high demand.

Despite the challenge, Abu Rami tries to reassure his customers that his stock has not yet run out, but his fears grow with every passing hour. "If the crossings remain closed, there will be no vegetables left to sell, and prices will continue to rise until no one will be able to buy," he said, before his conversation withÌýTNA was interrupted by a woman asking anxiously about the price of potatoes.

Israel's blockade has also caused the price of cooking gas to rapidly, with the price of one kilo of gas now costing 100 shekels (around $27) instead of 40 shekels (about $11).

Hala Al-Fakhouri, 34 years old, is apprehensive about resorting to burning wood to cook after the gas supply in Gaza runs out. "Last winter, we were forced to use wood after the gas ran out. The smoke was suffocating us, and the children suffered from allergies from inhaling it. Also, lighting it in the middle of the tents is very dangerous," Al-Fakhouri, who lives in a tent in Gaza City, toldÌýTNA.

Al-Fakhouri is trying to ration the remaining gas she has, but she knows that it is only a matter of time before the last drop runs out. "We can barely find anything to eat, and now even cooking food has become a problem. I don't want to go back to the days when we cooked on wood, but it seems that we are forced to do so," she stressed.

She expressed fears that this decision is a prelude to the resumption of fighting between Israel and Palestinian armed factions in Gaza if the mediators, particularly Egypt and Qatar, fail to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

Israel violates ceasefire deal

During a brief interview with TNA,Ìýdirector general of the Government Media Office, Ismail Thawabtah, accused Israel of violating its obligations in the ceasefire agreement.

Thawabtah argues that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using starvation as a form of political pressure against Gaza's residents, making it impossible for the Palestinians in Gaza to remain.

He pointed out that the most important factor in Israel's violations is not allowing the entry of 50 fuel trucks per day as stipulated in the agreement by only allowing the entry of 23 trucks per day. He further noted that Israel prevented the commercial sector from importing fuel of all kinds, despite the existence of an explicit text in the agreement that obliges this.

Thawabtah said that Israel allowed the entry of only 15 mobile homes, out of 60,000 agreed-upon units, and brought in about 50 percent of the tents needed to shelter the residents, and continues to prevent the entry of heavy equipment needed to remove rubble and extract bodies, with only nine vehicles allowed to enter, although Gaza actually needs at least 500 vehicles.

He stressed that these violations "represent clear evidence of the occupation's intention to thwart the agreement and deprive the Palestinians of their basic rights," and called on the international community to urgently intervene to stop these violations and ensure the ceasefire deal's implementation.

For his part, head of the International Committee to Support the Rights of the Palestinian People and international law expert, Dr Salah Abdel-Ati, said that the decision of Israel as an occupying state to stop the entry of goods into Gaza is a "war crime," including the use of starvation as a means of "political pressure and a weapon of war" which is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.

Abdel-Ati noted to TNAÌýthat Article 54 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 clearly prohibits starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, and prohibits the destruction or denial of access to materials necessary for their survival, such as food, water, and humanitarian aid.

He added that Israel's practices also violate the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which classifies "deliberate starvation of the civilian population" as a "war crime" in Article 8, which stipulates that depriving the population of materials indispensable to their life, whether by obstructing supplies or targeting civilian infrastructure, constitutes a crime that requires accountability.

Abdel-Ati stressed the international community needs to stop these Israeli violations by imposing international sanctions on Israeli officials and hold them accountable before international courts.