Hamas says Israel using Gaza aid delivery as 'blackmail'

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said on Monday a new Israeli framework for aid delivery in Gaza amounted to "political blackmail" and blamed Israel for the war-ravaged territory's "humanitarian catastrophe".

"We reject the use of aid as a tool of political blackmail and support the UN's stance against any arrangements that violate humanitarian principles," Hamas said in a statement, adding Israel's "continued obstruction of aid entry" since 2 March made it "fully responsible" for the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza.