Private Relay seems to bypass the host file in Safari

Hello,

I wish to improve my safety while browsing the web and want to block some websites.

Usually I did this via the host file in /private/etc. Sadly this does not work anymore in Safari and it is connected to turning the private relay on or off.

While activated the "blocked" websites are still available in Safari, though they are not ping-able in the terminal.

ping: sendto: Socket is not connected

Request timeout for icmp_seq 0

The same in Google Chrome. Websites are not reachable.

It seems the host file itself works as expected.

Safari however does not care about the host file. It seems "Private Relay" redirects the traffic / uses another DNS for Safari? I am no IT expert so I don't understand it completely.

If I deactivate Private Relay even in Safari the host file is working as expected. But that can't be the way? I want to use the advantages of Private Relay because in my understanding it works like having a vpn service without paying extra(?).

I can't find any solution to this problem, though I can't be the only one having it.

Is there any way to still use Private Relay and have a working host file for Safari?

Thanks for your help