CAIRO, October 19. /TASS/. The Palestinian Hamas movement has nothing to do with the clashes that took place in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the military wing of the movement, the Izzaddin al-Qassam Brigades, said.
"We are not aware of any clashes in Rafah, as the area is controlled by Israel, and we have not been in touch with our fighters who have remained there since March this year," the movement said on Telegram.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel launched new attacks on the Gaza Strip in response to the fire from Palestinian radicals, whom they accused of a "gross violation" of the ceasefire: according to the Israel Defense Forces, Hamas supporters launched an anti-tank rocket and opened fire from small arms in the direction of the Israeli military, who, "in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, were engaged in dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area, in southern parts of Gaza."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with the top brass and ordered them to "take decisive measures" against the radicals in Gaza, the office of the head of government said.
On October 6, Israel and Hamas resumed indirect negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in the Gaza Strip with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Turkey. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the first stage of the peace plan, previously presented by US President Donald Trump. The ceasefire agreement in Gaza entered into force on October 10.