An Israeli government spokesman said Monday that Hamas has "enough food to spark an obesity epidemic" after the Jewish state decided Sunday to suspend the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip.

"Hamas has been stockpiling supplies for months and months," spokesman David Mincer said at a press conference in Jerusalem, adding: "They have enough food to cause an obesity epidemic, but the only ones we see getting fat are Hamas members," according to Agence France-Presse.

He stressed that "no one in Hamas is suffering from hunger," while the United Nations called on Sunday for the "immediate" resumption of aid entry into Gaza.

Limited stocks

Aid agencies said on Monday that stocks of food, medicine and shelter in Gaza were limited and that aid destined for Palestinians, who desperately need it, could spoil after Israel suspended deliveries to the territory.

"A lot of what has arrived in the last few weeks has already been distributed... and now we are already starting to see price increases," a UN official in Gaza told Reuters.

Doctors Without Borders warned that the suspension of aid would add significant pressure on the two million Palestinians in the Strip who are still suffering from shortages of basic goods 16 months after the war. Israel has previously accused Hamas of stealing aid, a charge the group denies.

"Any further challenges to access to food and clean water could have devastating consequences. Rising food and commodity prices are creating a sense of fear and uncertainty," Caroline Seguin, emergency coordinator for MSF in Gaza, told Reuters.

Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office in Gaza, said there was enough food in the markets for at least two weeks, and urged Gazans not to panic.

Zero point

Hamas said on Monday that Israel is pushing to return things to square one, and called on mediators to intervene to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from sabotaging all efforts made to reach a ceasefire agreement and prevent its collapse.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said in a statement that the movement is committed to implementing all the terms of the ceasefire agreement accurately and on the specified dates: “We are committed to moving forward with the agreement and moving to its second stage.”

Hamdan denounced Netanyahu's blackmailing of humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip in the negotiations, especially after the Israeli government's decision to close the crossings and stop the flow of humanitarian aid to the stricken Strip.

The statement said: “The occupation is pushing to return things to square one and overturn the agreement, through the alternatives it is proposing, such as extending the first phase, or creating an intermediate phase, and other proposals that do not conform to what was stated in the agreement signed between the parties.”

He added: "We stress that the only way to restore the occupation's prisoners is to adhere to the agreement, immediately enter into negotiations to begin the second phase, and for the occupation to commit to implementing its pledges."