An Israeli military spokesman firmly rejected claims by Hamas on Saturday that the terrorist group had abducted Israeli soldiers in Jebalia during the ongoing war. "There was no event of a soldier being abducted," the spokesman said in an unusual statement addressing the Hamas allegations directly. 'No such event happened," the IDF said in a statement.
The denial came amid reports of fresh Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah positions overnight. The Israeli military said it carried out the attacks with artillery and aircraft, hitting Hezbollah targets in five areas of southern Lebanon.
"Hamas terrorists are waging war while embedding themselves inside and under civilian areas in Rafah because Hamas wants Gazan civilians to be caught in the crossfire."
🔴WATCH IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari's statement about our efforts to protect Gazan civilians in Rafah… pic.twitter.com/L3jGmVt4Wd
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 23, 2024
Meanwhile in Syria, opposition sources reported Israeli shelling around the southern region of Quneitra, though details remained unclear. Separately, Hezbollah announced another of its fighters had been killed in the ongoing hostilities.
As the 233rd day of the war passed relatively quietly along the northern and southern fronts, a senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al-Jazeera that the goal of negotiations was "to stop the aggression and lift the siege, and achieve a just prisoner exchange deal." However, Hamdan said Hamas had "not received any update from the mediators on anything related to resuming the negotiations," dismissing talk of new talks as "not serious."
