The Palestinian Hamas terror organization has cut off talks about releasing Israeli hostages, following an attack in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed Deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri and several other Hamas officials.
The Jerusalem Post reported the halt in talks, which was originally reported by the Saudi outlet Al Arabiya:
Hamas froze talks for a second deal to release additional hostages held in Gaza after Israel assassinated deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, according to the Al Arabiya news outlet.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the assassination was a “terrorist act,” a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and an expansion of Israel’s hostility against Palestinians.
Before the assassination, Israel had been hopeful that Hamas had slightly softened its stance and that a middle ground could be found that would allow for a deal to move forward to secure the release of some of the 129 captives remaining in Gaza.
Hamas had been saying for weeks that it would not negotiate with Israel about a hostage release until a permanent ceasefire had taken effect and Israeli forces had withdrawn from Gaza.
In recent days, there had been reports that Hamas had agreed to negotiate before a full Israeli withdrawal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis at a press conference this week that Hamas had backed away from its demand and that there had been movement toward talks.
However, Israel has also said for months that it will kill every Hamas leader and terrorist involved with the October 7 terror attack, in which 1,200 people were murdered in Israel.
Israel has not taken formal responsibility for the Beirut attack, but is widely suspected of having carried out the targeted killing.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the 2021 e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now updated with a new foreword. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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