The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, expressed astonishment on Friday following the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calls on Hamas to let captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to hold regular contacts with his family.

The Jerusalem Post daily has earlier quoted Yael Segev-Eytan, spokeswoman of the ICRC in Israel as saying that since Shalit has been captured, the ICRC has tried to deliver messages to Shalit from his family, but these efforts have not succeeded.

The Hamas-run ministry of prisoners' affairs in Gaza said in a written statement that "While the Red Cross makes such a request, it stands disable to organize the visiting timetable for Gaza families, who have their children jailed in Israel."

Through its contacts with Hamas, The ICRC is attempting to establish "regular and unconditional" family contact for Shalit, including the exchange of letters between he and his family in Israel.

In summer of 2006, Shalit was captured by Hamas and two other minor militant groups during a triple armed attack on an Israeli army base just outside southeast Gaza Strip. Shalit is now still held in the Gaza Strip.

Since then, Shalit had sent one letter to his family and to the Israeli government and received another letter from his father that was conveyed to him several months ago through foreign mediators.

"There are hundreds of families who were deprived from visiting or seeing their sons and daughters in Israeli jails for more than two years. The ICRC had failed to convey written letters from the prisoners to their families," said the statement.

Earlier Israeli reports said that Hamas and Israel will soon renew their indirect talks to finalize a prisoners' swap deal to release Shalit for releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

However, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum denied Friday the reports saying that its group is preparing a new amended list of prisoners it wants to set them free. The list will be presented soon to Israel through Egyptian mediators.

"The ball is still at the Israeli playground and still there has been nothing new in the indirect talks on finalizing the deal," Barhoum told reporters.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2009)