Hamas 'working with mediators to curb' Israel 'aggression'

GAZA CITY, Mar 18 (AFP): A Hamas official told AFP Tuesday that the group was "working with mediators to curb the aggression", after Israel unleashed its deadliest strikes since a ceasefire took effect in January.

"Hamas adhered to the ceasefire agreement and implemented it precisely, but the Israeli occupation reneged on its commitment and reversed it by resuming aggression and war," the official told AFP, adding that "Hamas and the resistance factions are in constant session to assess the situation and working with mediators to curb the aggression." So far, Hamas has not responded to the Israeli strikes.

Hamas head of Gaza govt

killed in strike

Hamas on Tuesday named the head of its government in the Gaza Strip, Essam al-Dalis, among a list of officials it said were killed in a wave of Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.

"These leaders, along with their families, were martyred after being directly targeted by the Zionist occupation forces' aircraft," said the Hamas statement, which also named interior ministry head Mahmud Abu Watfa and Bahjat Abu Sultan, director-general of the internal security service, among those killed.

Dalis, who was a member of Hamas's political bureau in Gaza, was elected to the movement's Gaza leadership in March 2021 and became the head of its administration in June of that year.

UN chief 'shocked' by

deadly Israel airstrikes

UN chief Antonio Guterres voiced shock Tuesday after hundreds were killed in the most intense Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since a fragile ceasefire took effect in January.

"The secretary-general is shocked by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza," UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told a press briefing in Geneva.

"He strongly appeals for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be re-established, and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally."

Israel on Tuesday vowed to continue fighting in the Gaza Strip until the return of all hostages as it unleashed its most intense strikes since a truce took effect on January 19.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported at least 413 people killed in the latest strikes.

Ceasefire mediator Egypt

condemns strikes

The Egyptian foreign ministry condemned Israel's deadly overnight air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, calling them a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire that took effect on January 19.

The strikes constitute a "dangerous escalation which threatens to bring serious consequences for the stability of the region", said the statement from Egypt, which brokered the Gaza ceasefire alongside Qatar and the United States.

It called on the international community to "act immediately to halt the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip in order to prevent the region entering a new spiral of violence and counterviolence".

Israel's overnight strikes, which the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said killed more than 330 people, were by far the biggest since the ceasefire. Hamas has not responded to them so far.

China urges steps to prevent

Gaza 'humanitarian disaster'

China on Tuesday called for steps to prevent a "humanitarian disaster" in Gaza, after Israel unleashed its most intense strikes on the territory since a ceasefire.

"China is highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, calling for the parties to "avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster".