Israel claims it's ready for talks with Hamas to 'improve conditions in Gaza'

Israel's minister of military affairs claims the Zionist regime is prepared for talks with the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Benny Gantz said on Monday that Tel Aviv is ready to engage in talks with Palestinian group with the aim of “improving conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip.”

He made the remarks in a meeting with the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.

Hamas blasts Netanyahu’s visit to Saudi Arabia as 'insult' to Palestinian cause

Hamas condemns Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia as an insult to the Palestinian cause.

Later in the day, Gantz tweeted that Israel is prepared “to arrive at a solution and contribute to improved conditions for the residents of Gaza” provided an understanding is reached that includes the release of Israeli soldiers detained by Hamas.

Hamas is said to be holding four Israeli prisoners, including two soldiers captured during the Israeli war on Gaza in the summer of 2014. The group has demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Tel Aviv in exchange for the Israelis.

The Israeli minister's comments came just two days after the regime's jet fighters launched air raids against eastern Beit Hanoun in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip.

An observation post belonging to the Gaza-based resistance movement of Hamas, located in Beit Hanoun’s An-Nayema street, was apparently targeted in the Israeli attacks on Saturday night.

Israeli warplanes attack north of Gaza Strip

Israeli jet fighters have reportedly launched air raids against eastern Beit Hanoun in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has bombed Gaza almost daily since August 6 in what it says is a response to the airborne incendiary devices and rockets launched from the blockaded coastal sliver into the occupied lands.

The fire balloons are widely seen as an attempt by Hamas to improve the terms of an informal truce, under which Israel committed to easing its 13-year-old crippling siege of the Gaza Strip.

So far, however, Israel has tightened the blockade, banned Palestinian fishermen from going to sea, and closed a key crossing with the territory, prompting the closure of Gaza’s sole power plant for want of fuel.

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The Gaza Strip suffers from an acute shortage of food and medical supplies plus extreme unemployment compounded by a severe electricity crisis as a result of the Israeli blockade imposed on it since 2007.

Israel and Hamas had earlier reached a ceasefire deal, brokered by Qatar, in late August.

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says it has agreed to a Qatar-brokered ceasefire, which will end nearly a month of Israeli raids against Gaza.

While the Israeli minister talks of a deal with Hamas, the Palestinian group has repeatedly condemned ongoing efforts -- in the Arab world -- to normalize relations with the Israeli regime.

On Monday, the group denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret flight to Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calling the move an “insult” to the Palestinian cause.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri described the Israeli premier's meeting, which was reportedly held in Neom on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, as “dangerous” and urged Saudi authorities to “clarify what happened because this represents an insult to the nation and the squandering of Palestinian rights.”

Israel has launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory’s already poor infrastructure.

The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty in the Gaza Strip.

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