Gaza City – A spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing announced on Sunday that their fighters had captured Israeli soldiers during clashes in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Saturday. However, the Israeli military quickly refuted this 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,” said Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades, in a recorded message broadcasted by Al Jazeera.
In response, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) denied the allegations. “The IDF clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted,” read a statement released on Sunday.
Hamas shared a video purportedly showing a bloodied person being dragged through a tunnel and images of military fatigues and a rifle. However, it was not possible to independently verify the identity or condition of the individual in the video.
These statements came shortly after renewed hope for Gaza ceasefire negotiations emerged. An official, who requested anonymity, revealed that discussions are set to resume next week following a meeting between the head of Israel’s Mossad, the CIA director, and the Qatari prime minister. “In the coming week, negotiations will open based on new proposals led by mediators Egypt and Qatar, with active U.S. involvement,” the source stated.
Contrary to Israeli media reports suggesting that talks would resume in Cairo on Tuesday, a Hamas official said, “There is no date.”
The seven-month conflict in Gaza has seen mediators struggle to achieve a breakthrough. Israel is demanding the release of hostages held by Hamas, while Hamas is calling for an end to the conflict and the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Israeli offensive. Israel launched this operation following an attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israeli communities on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and over 250 hostages taken, based on Israeli reports.
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