A senior Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel afterBenjamin Netanyahuon Monday announced a new “intensified” offensive in Gaza that will involve Israeli troops holding on to seized territory and significant displacement of the population.
“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in theGazaStrip,” Basem Naim told the news agency, urging the international community “to pressure the Netanyahu government to end the crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings” in Gaza.
His comments come a day after Israel’s military said expanded operations in Gaza would include displacing “most” of its residents, and amid Israeli strikes on Yemen and Lebanon.
After a fragile ceasefire in Gaza collapsed in mid-March, Israel renewed its bombardment of the territory, and more than 70% of Gaza is under Israeli control or covered by orders issued by Israel telling Palestinian civilians to evacuate specific neighbourhoods.
Hamas is still believed to be holding dozens of Israeli hostages who were seized and abducted from southern Israel during the Hamas surprise attack on 7 October 2023. Many of the hostages are thought to be dead.
Israel’s military has said it is today carrying out exercises at theTel Hashomer basein centralIsrael, and in the area of the northern city ofNahariya, which will lead to road closures and the sound of explosions being heard.
Israeli forces are reported to have arrested one man and assaulted three others during a raid nearRamallahin the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
France’s foreign ministry has said it strongly condemns the announcement byIsraelof a new plan to control territory in the Gaza Strip and forcibly relocate the Palestinians there.
The plan, which was unanimously approved at an Israeli security cabinet meeting late on Sunday, goes beyond any aims so far outlined by Israel for its offensive in the devastated Palestinian territory.
A senior Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel afterBenjamin Netanyahuon Monday announced a new “intensified” offensive in Gaza that will involve Israeli troops holding on to seized territory and significant displacement of the population.
“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in theGazaStrip,” Basem Naim told the news agency, urging the international community “to pressure the Netanyahu government to end the crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings” in Gaza.
His comments come a day after Israel’s military said expanded operations in Gaza would include displacing “most” of its residents, and amid Israeli strikes on Yemen and Lebanon.
After a fragile ceasefire in Gaza collapsed in mid-March, Israel renewed its bombardment of the territory, and more than 70% of Gaza is under Israeli control or covered by orders issued by Israel telling Palestinian civilians to evacuate specific neighbourhoods.
Hamas is still believed to be holding dozens of Israeli hostages who were seized and abducted from southern Israel during the Hamas surprise attack on 7 October 2023. Many of the hostages are thought to be dead.
Welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. Here are the headlines …
A senior Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with IsraelafterBenjamin Netanyahuon Monday announced a new “intensified” offensive in Gaza that will involve Israeli troops holding on to seized territory and significant displacement of the population
Israel’s security cabinet approved the plan on Sunday night for “conquering” the Gaza Strip and establishing a “sustained presence” there. The plan, which was unanimously approved, goes beyond any aims so far outlined by Israel for its offensive in the devastated Palestinian territory
Israel’s military has carried out a fresh round of airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea city of Hodeida, a day after the Iranian-backed rebels launched a missile that hit Israel’s main airport
Israelhas also carried out airstrikes onLebanon, where it claimed to have identified Hezbollah rebuilding a weapons manufacturing facility
Warning sirens that sounded earlier today inNetiv HaAsara, a moshav in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip, have been determined to have been a false alarm