A day after the horrible massacre of Mawasi… Hamas announces not to withdraw from ceasefire talks
A senior leader of Hamas said on Sunday the movement hadn’t withdrawn from ceasefire talks with Israel after yesterday’s deadly Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said the attacks were aimed at Mohamed Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing.
Izzat al Rishq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, accused Israel of trying to obstruct efforts by Arab and US mediators to reach a ceasefire by intensifying attacks in Gaza.
Health authorities in the Gaza Strip said Saturday’s attack in Khan Younis killed at least 90 Palestinians, raising doubts about ceasefire talks.
Hopes have grown over the past few days that an agreement to stop the fighting and return hostages held in Gaza can be reached.
Hamas said on Sunday that the Israeli army’s escalation of its massacres against civilians in shelters, most recently the bombing of an UNRWA school in Nuseirat camp, was a continuation of the war of extermination and a blatant challenge to the international community.
Hamas considered in a statement, “these massacres disregard the demands of the United Nations, which stressed the need to stop the aggression against our people”.
“The escalation of the criminal Zionist occupation army of its massacres against unarmed civilians displaced in shelters, the latest of which was the barbaric shelling of the UNRWA Abu Oraiban school this afternoon (Sunday) in the Nuseirat refugee camp, and the rise of about 15 martyrs and dozens of wounded, is a continuation of the war of extermination,” the statement said.
The statement considered this “a blatant Zionist challenge to the international community, and a disregard for the UN demands that stressed the need to stop the aggression against our people”.
The statement stressed, “the attempts of Netanyahu and his Nazi government to subjugate our people through this unprecedented level of criminality will fail, and our people will only find more adherence to their land and resistance until the expulsion of the invaders from our land, and the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital”.
The Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said in televised remarks on Sunday that Hamas was hiding the truth about Mouhamad al Daif fate, but didn’t confirm whether he was alive or dead.
On Sunday, Israeli forces continued their air and ground bombardment of several areas across the coastal enclave of 2.3 million people, most of whom have been displaced by the war.
Hamas medical and media officials said 15 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an air strike on a UN-run school in Nuseirat camp.
The Israeli military said the school was being used by Hamas fighters as a base to attack its forces, adding that it had taken numerous measures to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and intelligence.
Residents said two rockets targeted the top floor of the school, which is located close to the camp’s local market.
The market is usually crowded with shoppers and there are displaced families nearby.
Medics said Israel carried out air strikes earlier in the day on four homes in Gaza City, killing at least 16 Palestinians and wounding dozens more.
