Hamas claims it captured Israeli soldiers in Gaza, Israel claims no such incident occurred

A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing said on Sunday that its fighters captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, but the Israeli military denied the claim.

The spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing did not provide any information on the number of soldiers kidnapped and did not provide any evidence to support this claim.

“Our fighters lured a Zionist force into an ambush in a tunnel… The fighters withdrew after killing, wounding or capturing all members of the force,” Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded message broadcast by Al Jazeera early Sunday.

The Israeli military on Sunday rejected the claim made by Hamas’s armed wing.

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) makes it clear that this is not an incident in which a soldier was kidnapped,” the military said in a statement.

Hamas released a video that appears to show a bloodied person being dragged along the ground in a tunnel, as well as photos of military uniforms and a rifle. Reuters could not independently verify the identity of the person shown in the video or his condition.

Abu Ubaida made his comments just hours after prospects of a resumption of brokered ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip grew on Saturday.

An official familiar with the matter said it was decided to resume talks next week after the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency met with the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar.

The source, whose name and nationality were not disclosed, said it had been decided that “negotiations will begin next week on the basis of new proposals from the mediators Egypt and Qatar and with the active participation of the United States.”

A Hamas official later denied Israeli media reports that talks would continue in Cairo on Tuesday, saying: “There is no date.”

After more than seven months of war in the Gaza Strip, mediators are still trying to find a breakthrough: Israel is demanding the release of hostages held by Hamas, and Hamas is demanding an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Nearly 36,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

Israel launched the operation in response to attacks by Hamas-led militants on communities in southern Israel on October 7. According to Israeli sources, they killed around 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages.