Israel faces calls for truce after killing of hostages

Hamas says it has informed all sides mediating talks between the Palestinian resistance group and Israel that it will engage in no discussions on a prisoner-for-abductee swap unless the occupying regime completely ends its onslaught on the Gaza Strip

News Desk

GAZA: Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continue their brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip for the 72nd consecutive day Sunday, through dozens of airstrikes, artillery shelling, fire belts, and the perpetration of massacres against civilians, as part of the genocide and ethnic cleansing operations, amidst a catastrophic humanitarian situation resulting from the siege and the displacement of more than 90% of the population.

Hamas says it has informed all sides mediating talks between the Palestinian resistance group and Israel that it will engage in no discussions on a prisoner-for-abductee swap unless the occupying regime completely ends its onslaught on the Gaza Strip.  

“Hamas reaffirms its stance not to conduct any negotiations to exchange prisoners unless the Zionist aggression against our people stops once and for all,” the movement said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it had “conveyed this position to all mediators.”

Israel waged the brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, unveiled a new video entitled: “Time is running out… the choice is yours, either in coffins or alive.” The video demonstrated scenes of Israeli individuals held captive in Gaza, killed by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza.

After the video, a direct message from the spokesman of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, stated, “The enemy continues to gamble with the lives of its soldiers held captive by the resistance, indifferent to the feelings of their families. Yesterday, it deliberately executed three of them, choosing to kill them rather than release them. This is the same blatant criminal behavior it has practiced and continues to do so against its captives in Gaza, in a desperate attempt to rid itself of the burden of this issue and its well-known obligations.”

The families of Israeli prisoners held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip have called on the Israeli government to “stop the fighting and start negotiations” with the Palestinian movement Hamas to secure their release.

Noam Perry, the daughter of captive Hayim Perry, said, “We only receive bodies. We want you to stop the fighting and start negotiations.” She made these remarks during a gathering in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, following the Israeli army’s announcement that three Israeli prisoners held during a military operation in the Gaza Strip had been killed “by mistake.”

Ruby Chen, the father of 19-year-old captive Itay Chen, said, “It seems like a game of Russian roulette: who will be the next one to find out about the death of a family member? We want to know what proposal is on the government’s table.”

He added, “At the beginning, they told us that the ground operation would bring back the captives. Things are not going that way because, yes, some of them have come back, but not all of them alive. It is time to change that assumption.”

The Israeli army revealed additional details on Saturday about the three prisoners who were killed, noting that the three detainees had raised white flags and shouted “save us”, however, the soldiers fired at them.

Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, a military expert and specialist, cast doubt on the Israeli narrative, pointing out that it contains many loopholes and question marks.

Cuban president denounces Israeli killing of Gaza journalists.

Miguel Diaz-Canel has commented on the growing number of journalists being killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

“For every journalist killed in Gaza, thousands more will use their noble work tools as weapons to denounce Israel’s crimes and the complicity of the United States,” he wrote on X.

He also accused the US of prolonging the “genocide in Gaza” with its “shameful veto” at a recent UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

abil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas, has strongly condemned the ongoing assault by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right extremist government on the Palestinian National Authority.

He criticized Netanyahu’s boastful statements about preventing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, stating that such actions “align with the frenzied campaign led by certain Western media outlets to undermine the Palestinian national project, led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.”

Abu Rudeineh added that “these statements and the suspicious campaign are part of the all-out war waged by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, their land, and holy sites.”

“[These statements are also] part of the war of genocide being perpetrated against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the latest of which were the recent massacres in the Nusseirat refugee camp and Tulkarm, which resulted in the murder of dozens of our people,” he pointed out.

The presidential spokesperson called on the U.S. administration to fulfill its responsibilities and exert pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities, which openly defy President Biden’s declared positions supporting the two-state solution as the basis for the political process.

Abu Rudeineh emphasized that Israel “continues to reject a ceasefire, committing ongoing massacres against the Palestinian people and destroying hospitals and infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, Pope Francis appealed on Sunday for an end to the war ravaging the Holy Land, praying especially for Christians holed up in the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza.

At the Angelus prayer, the Pope said he continues to receive troubling news from Gaza, where “unarmed civilians are the targets of bombings and gunfire.”

Pope Francis condemned an attack on the compound of the Catholic parish, “where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, and nuns.”

“A mother, Mrs. Nahida Khalil Anton, and her daughter, Samar Kamal Anton, were killed, and others were wounded by the shooters while they were going to the bathroom,” said the Pope.

“Some say, ‘This is terrorism. This is war.’ Yes, it is war. It is terrorism,” he said. “That is why the Scripture affirms that ‘God stops wars… breaks the bow, splinters the spear’ (Psalm 46:10). Let us pray to the Lord for peace.”

Pope Francis also recalled people in various parts of the world who are suffering due to war.

“Let us not forget our brothers and sisters suffering from war, in Ukraine, in Palestine and Israel, and in other conflict zones,” he said. “May the approach of Christmas strengthen the commitment to open paths of peace.”

On Saturday, Israeli forces carried out heavy bombardment in the area surrounding Gaza’s only Catholic parish.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem released a statement alleging that an IDF tank fired a rocket which struck the Convent of the Missionaries of Charity, destroying the building’s generator and setting off a massive blaze that damaged the house.

Two more rockets reportedly rendered the convent uninhabitable for the 54 people with disabilities for whom the Sisters of Mother Theresa were caring.

“”The Convent is home to over 54 disabled persons and is part of the church compound, which was signalled as a place of worship since the beginning of the war,” said the Patriarchate.

Later in the day, an Israeli sniper killed two Christian women who had taken refuge in the Holy Family church compound.

Nahida Khalil Anton, an elderly woman, and her daughter, Samar Kamal Anton, had reportedly exited the church building and were walking toward the Sisters’ Convent.

“One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” the statement said.

The sniper reportedly shot and wounded 7 other people as they tried to protect others inside the church compound.

“No warning was given; no notification was provided,” said the Patriarchate. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.”