Hamas: We're considering "protest moves" against "delay" in aid to Gaza 

A source close to Hamas told Arab media today (Thursday) that the terrorist group is considering "protest steps" in the face of what it calls a "delay" in implementing the terms of the hostage deal, especially regarding the provision of humanitarian aid.

Hamas has been increasingly vocal about what it claims are delays in the provision of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, while Israel and the IDF have been equally strident in denying any such delays.

According to the terms of the hostage deal, 600 trucks of aid a day are supposed to enter the Strip via various border crossings.

Until Rafah crossing can be rebuilt and an arrangement set up to the satisfaction of Israel, the PA, and Egypt, the overwhelming majority of trucks are moving through Israeli border crossings - the Erez crossing in the north of the Strip and the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south.

The provision of humanitarian aid to the Strip during the war was a bone of serious contention between the security cabinet and more hawkish elements of the government such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and then-National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

They argued that Israel should not provide aid at all, but that even the aid Israel was providing was above and beyond what the population needed to survive in wartime conditions.

Worse, most if not all of that aid is stolen by Hamas gunmen, who then sell it back to the Gazan public. The money Hamas gains from profits from these sales allowed them to continue to pay fighters and for equipment, thus prolonging the war and leading to more deaths on both sides.

Smotrich even directly accused outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi of being a part of this failure, accusing him of almost physically barring the way to the IDF taking over aid provision, which he said would prevent Hamas stealing the aid.