Hamas Armed Wing Says Captured Israeli Soldiers in Gaza Fighting

Israeli soldiers gather near the border fence with the Gaza Strip (EPA)
Israeli soldiers gather near the border fence with the Gaza Strip (EPA)
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Hamas Armed Wing Says Captured Israeli Soldiers in Gaza Fighting

Israeli soldiers gather near the border fence with the Gaza Strip (EPA)
Israeli soldiers gather near the border fence with the Gaza Strip (EPA)

A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday its fighters had captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Saturday, though the Israeli military denied the claim.

The Hamas armed wing spokesman did not say how many soldiers had been abducted, and showed no proof of the claim.

"Our fighters lured a Zionist force into an ambush inside a tunnel ... The fighters withdrew after they left all members of the force dead, wounded, and captured," Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Al Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded message broadcast by Al Jazeera early on Sunday.

The Israeli military on Sunday denied the claim by Hamas' armed wing, Reuters reported.

The army "clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted," the military said in a statement.

The comments by Abu Ubaida came hours after prospects for a resumption of mediated Gaza ceasefire talks grew on Saturday.

An official with knowledge of the matter said a decision had been taken to resume the talks next week after the chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency met the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar.

Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive, Gaza's health ministry says. Israel began the operation in response to Hamas-led militants attacking southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7.



UNRWA: Gaza Hostilities Continue Despite Israeli Announcement

FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
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UNRWA: Gaza Hostilities Continue Despite Israeli Announcement

FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)

Hostilities continue in Rafah and southern Gaza despite the Israeli military's announcement on Sunday of tactical pauses in operations to allow humanitarian aid to enter, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Oslo on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized plans announced by the military to hold daily pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into the Palestinian enclave.

The pause is aimed at allowing aid trucks to reach the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for incoming aid, and travel safely to the Salah a-Din highway, a main north-south road, to deliver supplies to other parts of Gaza, the military said. It said the pause was being coordinated with the UN and international aid agencies.