Hamas denies claims of halting truce negotiations with Israel in response to the "Mawasi massacre"

Hamas Political Bureau member Izzat al-Rishq denied what was reported by some media outlets regarding the suspension of prisoner exchange negotiations with Israel, in response to the Al-Mawasi massacre west of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip.

Al-Rishq said in a statement to Anadolu Agency today, Sunday: "What was published and circulated by the media about a decision by Hamas to stop negotiations, in response to the Al-Mawasi massacre west of Khan Yunis, is baseless."

He added, "This Nazi escalation against our Palestinian people by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his 'Nazi' government, one of its goals is to block the path to reaching an agreement that stops the aggression against our people, which has become clear to everyone."

Yesterday, Saturday, the Israeli occupation army committed a massacre in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis, which resulted in the martyrdom of 90 Palestinians and the injury of 300 others, including serious cases, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Following the massacre, media outlets reported that Hamas had halted the truce negotiations in Gaza, in response to the Israeli targeting of the displaced persons’ tents.

In turn, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, discussed with the Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Al-Busaidi, last Saturday evening, the massacres of Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip, and the Al-Shati refugee camp for Palestinian refugees in the west of the city, during a phone call that Al-Busaidi received from Haniyeh, according to a statement from the Omani Foreign Ministry.

The statement said that Al-Busaidi received a phone call from Haniyeh on Saturday evening, during which the two sides discussed "the air strikes by the Israeli occupation forces targeting unarmed civilians in Mawasi, Khan Yunis, and in Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City."

On Sunday morning, the Palestinian Civil Defense Authority in the Gaza Strip announced that the number of martyrs in the massacre at the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City had risen from 15 to 22 martyrs.

For months, mediation efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would include a prisoner exchange from both sides and a ceasefire.

Although Hamas has confirmed its readiness to “deal positively with any deal that secures a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza, the reconstruction of the Strip after the end of the war, the exchange of prisoners, and the provision of relief to the Palestinians of the Strip,” mediation efforts are facing obstacles in light of Netanyahu’s insistence on not stopping the war.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving nearly 127,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children.

Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the two UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate halt to it, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.