Hamas: No hostage negotiation unless Israel stops attacking us

 

CAIRO – The Palestinian Hamas movement has announced that it does not intend to hold any negotiations on the fate of hostages seized by radicals on Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip while hostilities continue, the Al Hadath TV channel reported.

“We [Hamas representatives] will not negotiate on the issue of captives under fire [from Israeli forces],” the movement said in a statement quoted by the TV channel.

Hamas made this  revelation as Israel intensified attacks on Gaza with indiscriminate bombardment. Overnight Israel carried out over 200 raids on land sea and air targeting palestinian militants.

In that last three days, over 700 Palestinians have been killed in the raids, with over 3,000 people injured, among them children.

“Over the last few hours, IDF fighter jets have been striking numerous terror targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip”, the IDF said in a statement.

It added that dozens of fighter jets struck over 200 targets in Rimal and Khan Yunis.

“Rimal and Khan Yunis are used as terror hubs for the Hamas terrorist organization, and a large number of terror attacks against Israel are directed there.

“Among the targets, IDF fighter jets struck Islamic Jihad terror infrastructure in Khan Yunis, a Hamas weapons storage site located inside a mosque, and operational terror infrastructure used by Hamas terror operatives.

“Moreover, the fighter jets struck an operational residence belonging to a Hamas operative in the Anti-Tank Missiles Division, along with infrastructure used by one of the terrorist organization’s senior officials, and an additional operational asset used by Hamas terror operatives located inside a multi-story building in Al–Forqan.

“The fighter jets also struck a Hamas operational command center located inside a mosque, a command center used by the Hamas Anti-Tank Missile Division operatives, and two additional operational residences”, the IDF added.