India, March 3 -- Israel halted humanitarian aid and imports into Gaza as a six-week truce with Hamas ended on Sunday, after the Iranian-backed Palestinian faction rejected a US proposal to extend the ceasefire, escalating tensions.

Egypt, a key mediator in efforts to extend the ceasefire, strongly criticised Israel's decision. Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty said at a press conference that aid must not be used "as a weapon for collective punishment or starvation."

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry also condemned the move, calling it a "blackmailing and collective punishment tool."

Hamas denounced the aid cut-off as "blackmail" and "a war crime," while Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar pointed to the frail condition of Israe...