The Palestinian terrorist movement Hamas has decided to stop negotiations for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, citing the allegedly frivolous approach of the Israeli side and the massacres of Palestinian civilians. An unnamed high-ranking Hamas official told AFP. However, reports on this matter differ. Meanwhile, the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that at least 141 Palestinians had been killed and 400 wounded in massive Israeli strikes and offensives over the past day.
The Reuters agency and also the Israeli media, citing other representatives of the movement, said that Hamas has not yet withdrawn from the negotiations. Another Hamas representative told AFP that the head of the movement’s military wing, Muhammad Dif, is still alive and continues to oversee military operations. According to Israel, Dif, together with the commander of the Hamas brigade in Khan Yunis Salami, was the target of a massive airstrike on Saturdayduring which 92 people, half of whom appear to be women and children, were killed in the humanitarian zone of Mavasi in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the current balance sheet of the ministry under the control of Hamas.
Today, the Israeli army confirmed Salami’s death, considering him one of the masterminds of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 last year in southern Israel. According to the Israeli army, his death will significantly limit the military capabilities of Hamas, Reuters and The Times of Israel write.
Israel said on Saturday that the strike in Mawasi targeted a fenced Hamas compound where it said Dif and Salami were hiding and where there were no civilians. According to Israel, most of the victims of the strike are Hamas militants. The Israeli government identified the two men as one of the masterminds of the massacre on October 7 last year. Netanyahu said on Saturday night that he was not sure if they had been eliminated, but said that Israel “will get the entire leadership of Hamas one way or another.”
“Commander Muhammad Dif is doing well and is directly overseeing the operations of the Qassam Brigades and the resistance movement,” a second senior Hamas official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP today. The Saudi Arabian news website Ashark Al-Awsat, citing its Hamas sources, previously wrote that the brigade commander in Khan Younis Salami was killed in Saturday’s strike, his body was found and promptly buried.
