Hamas Denies Decision to Stop Truce Negotiations in Gaza Over Mawasi Massacre
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, refuted on Sunday that Hamas was pulling out of ceasefire talks.
Accounts of Hamas pulling out of the negotiations mediated by Egypt, the US, and Qatar surfaced early on Sunday. The reported withdrawal from talks was claimed to be in response to the latest Israeli massacre that targeted Al-Mawasi, a safe zone designated by Israel.
Agence France Presse (AFP) reported earlier, quoting an unnamed top Hamas official, that the resistance group was withdrawing from talks on a ceasefire in response to the latest Israeli massacre, which killed at least 90 displaced Palestinians sheltering in the designated safe zone.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh previously said in a statement late Saturday, following the strike, that he had contacted the mediators and other states to increase pressure on Israel to stop its massacres.
Saturday’s attack was one of Israel’s deadliest attacks, with 90 dead and at least 300 others injured. Associated Press journalists counted over 40 bodies at the overwhelmed Nasser Hospital nearby. Witnesses described an attack that included several strikes.
Israel justified the massacre in Al-Mawasi by claiming that it was hunting down Hamas’ military commander Mohammed Deif. Hamas later rejected the claim, stressing that “these false claims were merely a cover-up for the scale of the horrific massacre.”
“Several victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews are unable to reach them,” the Health Ministry said.
Witnesses said the strike landed in Al-Mawasi, the Israeli-designated safe zone that stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Younis. Palestinians have fled to the coastal strip, sheltering mostly in tents with few basic services or supplies. More than 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes.
Representatives from Hamas and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire framework, US President Joe Biden said on Friday.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators are cajoling Israel and Hamas towards negotiating a plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and wounded.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continuously raises demands in an apparent effort to sabotage the ceasefire proposal, Hamas has given up a key demand by not insisting on a “complete” ceasefire anymore.
