The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari says the army has killed more than 17,000 terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
He told a news conference that the IDF’s “significant fighting” and achievements were harming Hamas’ ability to regroup and recover.
“We are determined to continue with this,” he said.
Regarding recent claims by Hamas that its guards killed one hostage and wounded two others, Hagari says the group is “spreading manipulative messages about the hostages, as part of an attempt to use psychological terror to sow fear and terror in the public.”
Negotiations regarding a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip began today in Qatar, and no representatives of Hamas appeared at them.
Representatives of Israel as a party to the war, as well as mediators from the USA, Egypt and Qatar, met in Doha.
Although there is no representative of Hamas at the meeting itself, Reuters reports that their partners from Qatar will transmit all information about the progress of the negotiations and convey the position of this group during the talks.
Let us remind you that Hamas refused to come due to the opinion that previous agreements should be implemented before continuing with peace negotiations.
The negotiations are also important because of world media reports that depending on the success of this attempt at an agreement, Iran will decide whether to attack Israel.