Hamas chief tells mediators Israeli attacks on Gaza may return cease-fire talks to 'point zero'

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The head of the Palestinian group Hamas's political bureau warned mediators Monday that the Israeli army's intensified attacks across the Gaza Strip would return cease-fire talks "to point zero."

In a statement, Hamas said that Ismail Haniyeh spoke with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, "warning of the disastrous repercussions of what is happening in Gaza City, Rafah and other areas across the Gaza Strip."

He stressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu and his army bear full responsibility for the collapse of this negotiation path."

Since Sunday, the Israeli army has been ordering Palestinians in several areas of Gaza City in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to flee towards the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

The evacuation orders came amid the Israeli army's intensified attacks and bombardment across Gaza, leaving many casualties among the Palestinians.

Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, and CIA Director William Burns arrived in Egypt on Monday for talks on a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli media also reported that the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will travel to Qatar on Wednesday to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, CIA director Burns and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.

For months, efforts by the US, Qatar and Egypt to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a hostage exchange and cease-fire have been hampered by Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas' call to halt hostilities.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar