Hamas has decided to withdraw from negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip the day after an Israeli strike targeting its military leader, who is “doing well”, two senior officials of the Palestinian Islamist movement announced to AFP on Sunday.
According to one of the officials, Hamas “is nevertheless ready to resume negotiations” when Israel “shows seriousness in reaching an agreement on a ceasefire” and on the release in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel of hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that triggered the war.
The announcement comes after, according to Hamas, Israeli strikes killed 92 Palestinians on Saturday in the al-Mawasi displaced persons camp, near Khan Younis (south), and according to the Civil Defense killed 20 in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City (north). The victims are mainly women and children, according to these sources.
For its part, Israel indicated that it had targeted two senior Hamas leaders in the Khan Younis area, Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama, respectively head of the armed wing and commander in Khan Younis of Hamas, presented as “two masterminds of the October 7 massacre.”
“The strike was carried out in a fenced area managed by Hamas where, according to our information” there were “no civilians”, the Israeli army defended itself, considering that “most of the victims were terrorists”.
PHOTO BASHAR TALEB, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
View of the al-Mawasi displaced persons camp
On Sunday, a senior Hamas official told AFP of the movement’s decision to withdraw from indirect negotiations for a ceasefire with Israel conducted via the mediating countries – Qatar, Egypt, the United States – denouncing Israeli “massacres” “against unarmed civilians.”
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh informed regional mediators and stakeholders of the decision, he added.
Another senior official in the Palestinian movement announced that its military chief, Mohammed Deif, was alive: he “is doing well and directly supervising the operations of the al-Qassam Brigades.” [la branche armée du Hamas, NDLR] and resistance,” he said.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that there was “no certainty” that Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama had been “eliminated”.
“Terrible massacre”
The war broke out on October 7 after an unprecedented attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
Of the 251 people abducted, 116 are still being held in Gaza, 42 of whom are dead, according to the army.
In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, and launched an offensive that has so far killed 38,584 people, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run Gaza government’s health ministry.
At least 141 people were killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said on Sunday, one of the highest 24-hour tolls in several weeks.
The Islamist movement denounced a “horrific massacre” in al-Mawasi, with Egypt and Qatar also condemning the attack.
Regardless of its outcome, Saturday’s operation sends “a message of deterrence” to Israel’s enemies and contributes to weakening Hamas, Netanyahu said.
Mohammed Deif is the one who announced in a recording broadcast by Hamas on the morning of October 7 the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. Wanted by Israel, he escaped at least six assassination attempts before Saturday’s strike.
PHOTO ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues its operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the Rafah area (south) and in Gaza City, where troops have “eliminated several terrorists in close combat.”
At least eight people were killed in the city last night after strikes on several buildings, according to paramedics and the Civil Defense.
Hard blow for negotiations
After months of international calls for a ceasefire, Hamas’s withdrawal from the negotiations is a blow to mediators’ efforts to broker a truce in the besieged territory, where the humanitarian situation is dire.
The diplomatic marathon had just been relaunched after a concession last week from Hamas, which had agreed to negotiate on the release of hostages in the absence of a permanent ceasefire with Israel.
On Saturday evening, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Mr Netanyahu of seeking to block a ceasefire with “heinous massacres”, according to a statement from the Islamist movement.
“The Israeli position […] “This is about placing obstacles that prevent an agreement from being reached,” Haniyeh said, emphasizing instead “a positive and responsible response” from Hamas to the mediators’ efforts.
Mr Netanyahu has consistently said he wants to continue the war until the destruction of Hamas, classified as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and the release of all hostages.
In Syria, the official news agency Sana reported on Sunday that one soldier was killed and three others were wounded in Israeli strikes, which targeted, according to the Israeli army, several infrastructures and targets of the Syrian army’s air defense unit, in retaliation for the sending of two drones towards Israel.