Hamas believes that the escalation of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip does not help negotiations to end the war and has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating obstacles to the talks.
In a statement released Monday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh warned that the “catastrophic consequences of what is happening in Gaza” could “bring the negotiation process back to square one.”
Netanyahu and his army will bear “full responsibility for the collapse of this path,” Haniyeh was quoted as saying by Hamas.
The statement said Haniyeh made “urgent contacts” with mediators from Qatar and Egypt over the escalating actions of the Israeli military, which has issued new evacuation orders for areas in Gaza City neighborhoods, displacing thousands of Palestinians, many of whom have been forced to move repeatedly.
On Sunday, the Israeli army ordered the “immediate” evacuation of the northern Gaza neighborhoods of Tuffah, Daraj and the Old City.
In a separate statement, Hamas accused Mr Netanyahu of stepping up “his aggression and crimes against our people” in what it called “attempts to forcibly displace them in order to thwart all efforts to reach an agreement”.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said Palestinians had been ordered to evacuate to the central Gaza Strip, although the area was already “overwhelmed” by large numbers of displaced Palestinians from across the enclave.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced, with hundreds of thousands crammed into overheated tent camps.
Khoudary said she spoke to Palestinians who decided not to evacuate because there was “nowhere safe to go.” She added that they did not want to “lose their dignity by being displaced into makeshift camps and not having access to food (and) water.”
Israeli forces also attacked tent camps housing displaced Palestinians. On June 8, Israeli forces raided the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 274 Palestinians in order to free four Israeli prisoners held there.
Since October 7, Israel has killed at least 38,193 Palestinians and wounded 87,903 others, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday. A total of 40 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
Israel expands military operations
Israeli tanks rolled into the heart of Gaza City as the army ordered residents to leave after a night of heavy shelling in areas it said had been largely cleared months ago.
Residents said the airstrikes and artillery barrages were among the heaviest in nine months of what many human rights experts and governments have called genocide.
The Israeli military said it had intelligence showing that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fighters were in the Gaza City area and called on residents to head south toward the town of Deir el-Balah.
In Shujayea, a neighborhood of Gaza City that has been the scene of weeks of fighting, the Israeli military said its troops attacked and destroyed schools and a clinic.
Khoudary said the Israeli army had expanded its ground operations around Shujayea.
“Some people tried to evacuate. Some fled under artillery shelling and airstrikes; others were trapped and could not leave,” she said.
On Monday, Tel Aviv Tribune Arabic correspondent reported that new evacuation orders had been issued for the Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza City.
The new Israeli offensive comes as Egypt, Qatar and the United States step up efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas has dropped its demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before the Palestinian movement signs an agreement.
But Netanyahu’s office reiterated in a statement Sunday that “any agreement will allow Israel to return (to Gaza) and fight until all the objectives of the war are achieved.”
With negotiations repeatedly failing due to differences between the sides, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are expected to hold new meetings this week, officials said.
