"Hamas" said it rejected new Israeli conditions set in Gaza ceasefire talks, casting further doubt on the chances of a breakthrough in efforts to end the 10-month war, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
For months, talks have failed to produce an agreement to end Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza or to release the remaining hostages taken by "Hamas" in the militant group's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war.
The main points of contention in the ongoing negotiations, brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar, include the Israeli presence in the so-called Philadelphia Corridor - a narrow section 14.5 km long along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.
"Hamas" said Israel had reneged on its commitment to withdraw troops from the corridor and set other new conditions, including vetting displaced Palestinians on their return to the enclave's more densely populated north when the ceasefire begins.
"We will not accept talks about retreating from what was agreed on July 2 or new terms," the official representative of "Hamas" said yesterday. Osama Hamdan on the air of "Al-Aqsa", the television of the group. In July "Hamas" accepted the US offer to open negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men.
Meanwhile, a projectile from the southern Gaza Strip hit an open space in Rishon LeZion.
No injuries were reported, but according to rescue services, a young woman was injured while running to a bomb shelter.
The military wing of “Hamas” claimed responsibility for the attack.
The war in Gaza was sparked by an attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on October 7. Since then, according to Gaza health officials, Israeli military bombing of Gaza has killed more than 40,000 people, including thousands of children.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the presence of two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East following the exchange of massive strikes between Israel and the Lebanese movement "Hezbollah" early this morning, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The agency notes that the United States is increasing its military forces in the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region.
The US defense secretary announced the change in plans in a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant this evening.
Initially, the group of the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" was planned. to replace that of "Theodore Roosevelt". Instead, both aircraft carriers will remain in the Middle East.
In a televised address earlier today, the leader of "Hezbollah" Hassan Nasrallah admitted that the operation of the Lebanese movement against Israel has been delayed due to the mobilization of American and Israeli military forces in the region.
The most senior American military has meanwhile arrived on a visit to Israel.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US General Charles Brown is expected to meet with the chiefs of the Israeli Armed Forces.
Earlier today, Brown was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, before visiting Jordan.
The exchange of blows between Israel and "Hezbollah" caused concern about the escalation of the conflict that broke out in the Middle East with the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement "Hamas" against the Jewish state on October 7.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called this evening on Israel and the Lebanese group to immediately end hostilities.
The exchange of strikes "puts the populations of both Lebanon and Israel at risk, and also threatens regional security and stability," Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.