The Israeli military refuted a claim made by a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas on Sunday that its forces had taken Israeli troops during combat in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Saturday.
A spokesman for the Hamas armed wing declined to specify the number of soldiers kidnapped and provided no evidence to support the assertion.
“Inside a tunnel, our warriors ambushed a Zionist army… the fighters departed after leaving all of the force’s members dead, injured, or abducted”, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Al Qassam Brigades, stated that in a recorded statement that Al Jazeera aired early on Sunday.
The armed branch of Hamas made the assertion, which the Israeli military refuted on Sunday.
The military released a statement saying, “The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted.”
Hamas published images of a gun and military gear along with a video that seemed to show a wounded person being brought through a tunnel. The name and condition of the individual depicted in the video could not be independently confirmed by Reuters.
Abu Ubaida’s remarks were made just hours after hopes for a mediated truce negotiation in Gaza began to rise on Saturday.
Following a meeting between the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, the head of the CIA, and the prime minister of Qatar, an official with knowledge of the situation stated that a decision had been made to restart the negotiations the following week.
It has been decided that “in the coming week negotiations will open based on new proposals led by the mediators, Egypt and Qatar and with active US involvement,” according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous and withhold their nationality.
A Hamas representative later refuted claims in Israeli media that the negotiations will pick back up in Cairo on Tuesday, telling Reuters that “there is no date.”
The mediators have had difficulty achieving a breakthrough after over seven months of fighting in Gaza, as Israel wants the release of hostages held by Hamas and Hamas wants an end to the conflict and the release of Palestinian inmates in Israel.
The health ministry in Gaza reports that Israel’s offensive has claimed the lives of nearly 36,000 Palestinians. Israel launched the operation in response to militants led by Hamas attacking villages in southern Israel on October 7, killing almost 1,200 people and taking over 250 captives, according to Israeli estimates.
