Hamas withdraws from Gaza ceasefire talks after Israel targets military chief Mohammed Deif, says official

Hamas has withdrawn from talks for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli strike targeted its military chief Mohammed Deif, according to an official.

Israel on Saturday struck a compound in Al-Mawasi area near the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The targets of the strike were Deif, one of the most wanted men in Israel, and Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade of Hamas. Their fates are not yet known.

Following the strike, a Hamas official told AFP news agency that the terrorist group was pulling of out of Gaza ceasefire talks.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh told international mediators of the “decision to halt negotiations due to the occupation’s [Israel’s] lack of seriousness, continued policy of procrastination and obstruction, and the ongoing massacres against unarmed civilians”, said the official to the agency.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

In a joint IDF and ISA activity based on precise intelligence, the IDF's Southern Command and the IAF carried out a strike in an area where two senior Hamas terrorists and additional terrorists hid among civilians. The location of the strike was an open area surrounded by trees,… pic.twitter.com/1MEJYHHwm7

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 13, 2024

The international mediators are Egypt and Qatar, who have been facilitating the talks between Israel and Hamas with support from the United States.

Even as Hamas has halted the talks, the terrorist group’s official told AFP that Haniyeh has said that the group was “ready to resume negotiations when the occupation government [Israel] demonstrates seriousness in reaching a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal”.

Mohammed Deif is alive, says Hamas

Amid no confirmation of his death by Israel, Hamas has said that Deif is alive and is doing fine.

The Hamas official quoted by AFP said that Deif was fine and was “directly overseeing” the military activities of the terrorist group.

The Hamas-run Gazan authorities said at least 92 people were killed in the Israeli strikes and around 300 were injured.

Is 8th time the charm in hunt of Mohammed Deif?

Deif is an expert bombmaker who is said to have presided over many bombings in previous waves of terrorist attacks during the Palestinian intifadas. He has survived seven Israeli assassination attempts so far.

Along with Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza , Deif is considered to be the principal planners of the October 7 terrorist attack.

Deif is highly elusive and little is about him. Mohammed Deif is not even his real name. Deif in Arabic means “guest” and he has acquired the name as he stays with trusted lieutenants’ homes and keeps changing his base and barely stays anywhere for long.

In a press conference last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was "no certainty" that Deif was killed .

Where do Israel-Hamas talks stand?

In recent weeks, the talks between Israel and Hamas had picked up pace as a revised version of the US-backed ceasefire proposal was submitted to Hamas and there were reports of Hamas dropping some of the sticking points. Barak Ravid of Axios has reported that the killing of Deif would increase pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire agreement even if the terrorist group quits the talks in the short-term.

Three senior Israeli officials told me that even if there might be a suspension of the negotiations in the immediate term, the attempted assassination of of Hamas' top military commander Mohammed Deif (especially if it turns out that he was killed) will increase the pressure on…

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 13, 2024

Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden had said that even though there were gaps to feel, Israel and Hamas had agreed on the framework for the ceasefire plan he had outlined last month. As per the plan, the war in Gaza would end in three stages starting with a six-week ceasefire and a release of some Israeli hostages in lieu of release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

On Saturday night, however, Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP that Netanyahu was to blame for the impasse between the two sides and called on Biden to put “sufficient pressure” on the Israeli premier to agree to a truce.

Despite the apparent setback to the talks from the strike, an Israeli security source told the agency that Israel “will continue to target senior Hamas leadership” even as it “pursues negotiations for a hostage agreement”.