Israel Hamas questions hostage deal after deadly airstrike

Following an Israeli airstrike in the south of the Gaza Strip that left dozens dead, the prospects for a ceasefire and the release of Hamas hostages are uncertain.

All options are open, including the breaking off of indirect negotiations, said the deputy chairman of the Islamist organization, Khalil al-Hajja, to the Arab television station Al Jazeera. Its military leader in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Deif, was not killed in the Israeli attack, Hamas explained.

"Mohammed Deif is fine and he continues to command the resistance against the Israeli enemy," Hamas official Ali Barakeh told the German Press Agency in Beirut. According to Israel's army, the attack west of the city of Chan Junis was aimed at the leader of the Hamas military wing. None of the information could initially be independently verified. "I tell (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that Muhammad Al-Deif hears you now and mocks your lies," al-Hajja was quoted as saying.

Netanyahu: No certainty yet

Israel's army said it was still investigating whether Deif and Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas' Chan Junis Brigade, were killed in the airstrike. "There is still no absolute certainty," Netanyahu told the press in Tel Aviv. The Hamas men are said to have been the "masterminds of the October 7 massacre" in Israel. The massacre more than nine months ago was the trigger for the Gaza war. According to Palestinian reports, at least 90 people were killed in Israel's most recent airstrike.

At least 300 other people were also injured in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. "The attack was carried out in a fenced-in area controlled by Hamas and where, according to our information, only Hamas terrorists and no civilians were present," Israel's army said. "It was a precise attack." It is assumed that most of the victims were also terrorists. None of the claims could be independently verified.

Netanyahu: Have the entire Hamas leadership in their sights

A military representative admitted in an online briefing that the object hit was located in the humanitarian zone declared by Israel to the west of the city of Chan Junis in southern Gaza. "But it was a fenced-off, guarded Hamas base, manned by terrorists," the army representative added. The military was also very certain that there were no Israeli hostages there at the time of the attack. Israel will eliminate the entire Hamas leadership, Netanyahu said at a press conference.

Israel's head of government was also referring to Jihija al-Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza. Deif is considered his number two. The foreign head of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, accused Netanyahu of blocking a ceasefire in the war with "heinous massacres". He called on the mediating states in the indirect negotiations - Egypt, Qatar and the USA - to stop Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip.

All options were open, but Hamas would "neither give Netanyahu what he wants nor give him the opportunity to blame them for the failure of the negotiations", al-Hajja was quoted as saying by the Arab television station Al Jazeera.

What will become of the hostages?

The head of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad, Daniel Barnea, wants to travel to the Qatari capital Doha in the next few days for another round of talks, the Israeli radio station Kan reported. The plans for the indirect negotiations do not appear to have been overturned for the time being by Israel's latest attempt to kill the Hamas military chief, writes the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz".

In Israel, meanwhile, thousands of people once again demonstrated for an agreement to bring home the 120 or so hostages still held by Hamas. Participants in the rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of sabotaging the indirect negotiations to reach such an agreement. "We demand that you stop sabotaging the agreement, we demand that you sign the agreement," the mother of a hostage was quoted as saying by Israeli media.

"Netanyahu is killing the hostages," read a huge banner carried by protesters in Tel Aviv. One former abductee said: "I may seem okay on the outside, but the pain weighs on me more than anyone can imagine." He was one of the lucky ones who had been held captive in a house and not in a tunnel. "So if I suffered brutal conditions and mistreatment, what about the other 120 hostages?" the man said.

Israel responds to Hezbollah shelling

Meanwhile, the Israeli air force attacked militia positions in southern Lebanon after shelling by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah. The Israeli army announced in the evening that it had bombed the facility from which shells had previously been fired at northern Israel. A number of other Hezbollah "terrorist infrastructures" were also attacked, according to a brief statement. No further details were given. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia have been fighting almost daily since the beginning of the Gaza war. Recently, the intensity of the fighting has increased significantly. There have been casualties on both sides. According to its own statements, the Hezbollah militia is acting out of solidarity with the Islamist Hamas in Gaza. There have long been fears that the conflict could escalate.

Attack also in Syria

Israel's army also announced in the evening that two drones had approached Israel from Syrian territory. They had been intercepted. The air force then attacked a command center and terrorist facilities used by the Syrian military's air defense unit during the night. The information could not initially be verified.

According to unconfirmed Arab reports, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Syria was killed in the attack. Israel's air force repeatedly bombs targets in the neighboring country. With the attacks in Syria, the Jewish state wants to prevent its arch-enemy Iran and its allied militias from expanding their military influence in the country. Iran is one of Syria's most important allies.

SDA