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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli operation in Rafah undermines mediation efforts — Hamas

Political Bureau member Osama Hamdan warned Israel that its "invasion of Rafah won’t be an easy walk"

BEIRUT, May 8. /TASS/. Palestine’s radical Hamas movement will not approve a prisoner swap deal with Israel if the situation in the Gaza Strip continues to escalate, Hamas Political Bureau member Osama Hamdan said.

"We are calling upon the United Nations to exert pressure on the occupation regime and stop the military operation in Rafah, which puts at risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and undermines the mediation efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire and ending the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza," he said at a press conference in Beirut, aired by the movement’s official Telegram channel.

At the same time, he warned Israel that its "invasion of Rafah won’t be an easy walk."

On May 6, The Times of Israel reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began evacuating civilians from eastern neighborhoods of Rafah in preparation for a planned military operation. On Tuesday, the IDF took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. The military launched a targeted counter-terrorism operation in the eastern part of Rafah, the Israeli army's press service said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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