Hamas denies that it is withdrawing from negotiations on a cease-fire in Gaza

Early on Sunday morning, the AFP news agency reported that unnamed sources in Hamas claimed the group had broken off negotiations with Israel on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Later on Sunday, however, the leadership of Hamas denies that this is the case.

Spokesperson Jihad Taha says, according to the AP news agency, that “there is no doubt that the horrific massacres will affect the negotiations”, but added that “the efforts and efforts of the mediators continue”.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire in Gaza have been taking place in Doha in Qatar recently. Negotiations have also been ongoing in Cairo with Egyptian mediators.

Leader survived

The attack on Saturday is said to have been aimed at Mohammed Deif, who is the head of the military wing of Hamas, and his deputy Rafa Salama. In a massive air raid, at least 90 people were killed, including many children.

The Israeli military IDF announced on Sunday that Salama had been killed. He was also the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. However, they did not say anything regarding whether Deif had suffered the same fate.

For years, Mohammed Deif has been among Israel’s most wanted persons and has been living in hiding.

Netanyahu acknowledged

Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that it was not certain that Deif had been hit in the attack. Hamas said on Sunday that Deif was not hit in the attack and that he was in good health.

Had Deif lost his life in the attack, it would have been a feather in the hat for the Israeli leaders and a psychological defeat for the militant group. Netanyahu has stated that it is a goal of Israel to kill all Hamas leaders and that doing so will bring Hamas closer to a cease-fire agreement.

On Sunday, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised the pilots who carried out the attack. He said Hamas is gradually being broken down and is losing the ability to arm or organize itself, or to care for those who are wounded.

Children with horrific injuries

At least 300 people were injured in the attack on Saturday, making it one of the most extensive since the outbreak of war on 7 October last year. The attack on Saturday has been heavily criticized by residents of Gaza and aid workers at the Nasser Hospital.

– I witnessed some of the most horrific scenes I have seen during my nine months in Gaza. I saw toddlers who are double amputees, paralyzed children unable to receive treatment and others separated from their parents, UN spokesman Scott Anderson said in a statement on Sunday.

He further said that restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza are hindering efforts to provide necessary medical and other care.

On Sunday, at least 13 more Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces attacked the gate of a school in Nuseirat in central Gaza. According to a statement from Israel’s military, the attack was aimed at taking out Hamas fighters who were operating under the cover of the school run by the United Nations Office for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.