Raid on hospital as talks resume
GAZA STRIP: Hamas’s chief has accused Israel of sabotaging talks for a Gaza truce after it raided the devastated Palestinian territory’s largest hospital for a second time.
Israeli troops were pressing an assault on Gaza’s biggest hospital, which they allege is being used for military purposes, saying more than 50 fighters had been killed and about 300 suspects arrested and taken for questioning.
In response, Hamas’s Qatar-based chief, Ismail Haniyeh, accused Israel of seeking to “sow chaos and perpetu- ate violence” and “sabotage ongoing negotiations in Doha”.
“The actions of the Zionist occupation forces at Al-Shifa Medical Complex confirm their intent to obstruct the recovery of life in Gaza and dismantle essential aspects of human existence,” he said.
Israel said “dozens of prominent terrorists” from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad were arrested at the hospital.
Negotiations on a ceasefire in Qatar had restarted, after weeks of talks failed to secure a truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week.
Israeli spy chief David Barnea kicked off a new round of talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Monday.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said he was “cautiously optimistic” but it was “too early to announce any successes”.
Meanwhile, China has stepped directly into the Gaza crisis, holding its first meeting with the Hamas leadership since the war began.
Wang Kejian, a former Chinese ambassador to Lebanon, met Mr Haniyeh in Qatar, in a sign China is moving further away from both the Israeli and Western position on the crisis.
A statement released after a meeting between Mr Wang and Mohammed al-Khulaifi, from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called for a comprehensive ceasefire, humanitarian aid and a “just and lasting settlement”.