Hamas denies reported truce with Israel

The Islamic Hamas movement on Monday denied an Israeli media report that it had reached a five-year truce with Israel.

"The Israeli media reports are lies and falsehood," Salah el-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas movement official based in Gaza, told Xinhua.

In one such report, an Israeli news portal, Walla.com, said Hamas, in a series of messages to Israel, expressed interest in a long-term ceasefire in return for an end to the blockade.

The site said an Israeli government source confirmed that the proposals were transferred to Israel.

Al-Bardaweel, the Hamas spokesman, denied the existance of such a deal.

"There are no agreements on any truce or ceasefire with the Israeli occupation except the one reached in Cairo last summer at the end of a 50-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip," he said.

On July 8, Israel waged a large-scale military operation on the Gaza Strip against Hamas and other Gaza militant groups, leaving over 2,000 Palestinians dead and 11,000 wounded, two thirds of them civilians.

Since the end of the war, talks to reinforce the truce with Israel have been stalled due to the deteriorating security situation in Sinai and strained ties between Hamas and Egypt.

"Since the end of the war on the Gaza Strip until now, Israeli occupation forces have been violating the ceasefire agreement. The last violation was killing a Gaza fisherman two days ago," said al-Bardaweel. Endit