News / Palestine

Israeli claims of ceasefire violations meant to 'justify massacres' in Gaza: Hamas

Saturday, 31 January 2026 6:33 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 31 January 2026 6:33 PM ]

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem

Hamas has roundly dismissed Israeli claims that recent bombings in Gaza are a “response” to the Palestinian resistance movement’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that such allegations “are nothing but a blatant and pathetic attempt to justify the horrific massacres against civilians” in the coastal sliver.

In a statement on Saturday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said “These baseless and flimsy claims confirm the [Israeli] occupation’s contempt for the mediators, the guarantor states, and all the parties involved in what is called the Board of Peace.”

He called on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights organizations to “clearly condemn Israel’s massacres in Gaza, take practical steps to stop them, hold Israeli leaders accountable for their crimes, and end the policy of impunity, which encourages further killing and destruction.”

According to Palestinian sources in Gaza, Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement more than 1,300 times since it was implemented in October last year. Since then, at least 509 Palestinians have been killed and 1,405 wounded by Israeli forces.

The sources highlighted that civilians have been shot 430 times.

Moreover, residential areas have been raided beyond the so-called “yellow line” 66 times.

Properties of Palestinians in Gaza have been demolished on 200 occasions as well.

At least 50 Palestinians were abducted over the past month.

US envoys blocked warning of Gaza turning into ‘apocalyptic wasteland’: Report

US envoys in occupied Palestine prevented a series of 2024 memorandums by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from reaching the Biden administration, silencing warnings about Gaza’s rapid collapse, according to a report.

At least 31 Palestinians, including at least six children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip since dawn, according to medical sources.

The violence comes a day before Israel is due to reopen the Rafah crossing, which links Gaza with Egypt, on Sunday for the first time since May 2024.

A genocidal campaign that started in October 2023 and continued for nearly two years resulted in the deaths of at least 71,769 Palestinians and inflicted injuries on an additional 171,483 people.

Widespread devastation resulting from the war included damage or destruction of around 90% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure. The United Nations estimates that the cost of reconstruction is approximately $70 billion.

A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect last October, but the war-ravaged territory is still grappling with post-war destruction, deteriorating health conditions and shortages of food and medicine supplies.

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