Hamas has not left the talks on a ceasefire after Israel's latest attacks, announces a leader of the terrorist-stamped group's political branch and rejects earlier reports.
The statement from Hamas negotiator Izzat al-Reshiq comes hours after an anonymous Hamas leader told AFP that Hamas is terminating the talks due to "Israel's attitude in the negotiations" and "ongoing massacres against unarmed civilians".
According to the anonymous reports, it was Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who gave notice of cancelled talks to mediators from Qatar and Egypt. But the reports are now being denied, as The Times of Israel reports.
In the statement from Izzat al-Reshiq, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also accused of trying to sabotage the mediated talks.
Accuses Netanyahu
On Saturday, at least 92 Palestinians were killed and around 300 injured in the attack on a camp – al-Mawasi – located in a protected zone outside the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health department in Gaza.
Israel's army IDF denies that it was a refugee camp in the area – which was almost completely destroyed – but calls it a "military facility".
Saturday's attack was directed, according to Israel, against Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, who was reportedly in a building in the area. He "is doing well and working", according to the terrorist-stamped movement.
A Hamas Leader Dead
Another Hamas leader, Rafa Salama, who was also a target of the attack, is reported by Israel to have died.
Israel believes that Deif, together with Salama, bears the highest responsibility for the attacks on October 7, where around 1,150 people died and around 250 were taken hostage.
According to the plan for a six-week-long ceasefire, which was negotiated with the help of US President Joe Biden, the hostages taken in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 would also be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The Islamist extremist group Hamas attacked Israel on the morning of Saturday, October 7, last year. Around 1,150 people are estimated to have fallen victim to the terrorist attack, most of them civilians, and more than 200 people were taken hostage.
Israel responded by declaring war. They have besieged Gaza, bombed the coastal strip continuously, and gone in with ground forces with the declared aim of annihilating Hamas.
According to Hamas-controlled authorities, more than 38,400 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the outbreak of the war. Large parts of the area's buildings have been razed to the ground, and aid organizations are warning of severe famine.
According to Israel, many are still being held hostage in Gaza, many have also been released in exchanges, and some have been rescued. Many who are still missing are feared to no longer be alive.
