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.



Israel Conducts Military Operation in Jenin, 5 Palestinians Killed

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta
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Israel Conducts Military Operation in Jenin, 5 Palestinians Killed

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, during his funeral in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. July 3, 2024. REUTERS /Raneen Sawafta

The Israeli military said Friday it was conducting a raid that included an airstrike in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin. Palestinian authorities said five people were killed.

The military said Israeli soldiers had “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had “struck several armed terrorists” in the area.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said five people died but did not provide any information on their identities. No further details were immediately available from either side.

The clashes in Jenin came a day after an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group said the government plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The construction plans revealed by the Peace Now group are part of the hard-line government’s efforts to beef up settlements as part of a strategy of cementing Israel’s control over the West Bank to prevent a future Palestinian state. 

Violence has spiraled in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza. The war has so far killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.