The Palestinian resistance factions announced on Tuesday that they inflicted heavy losses on the Israeli occupation forces in the ground incursions into the Gaza Strip. The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that its fighters killed 9 Israeli soldiers and destroyed or damaged 22 tanks and vehicles in various areas of the Gaza Strip. The Al-Qassam Brigades also said that they used the "Rajum" missile system to target a gathering of Israeli soldiers south of Gaza City and launched a missile attack on the Ra'im military base. The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, said that its fighters clashed with the Israeli forces that penetrated west of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. The Al-Quds Brigades added that they fired mortar shells at the enemy soldiers and vehicles in the southwestern Gaza axis. Meanwhile, a US official told CNN that Hamas and Israel are close to reaching an agreement to release detainees in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a temporary truce. However, the official said that the talks are "volatile" and could collapse at any moment. A European official also told CNN that there is optimism that some of the detainees held by Hamas could be released within days or weeks. An Israeli official confirmed that negotiations regarding the detainees are ongoing with the mediation of Qatar, US intelligence, and Israel's Mossad. The Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad, Ziad Al-Nakhalah, said that they would not give up their prisoners easily and that they would demand better conditions for their release. He also said that "the way of negotiations regarding the prisoners and the enemy's reactions may push us to be outside the deal." The Islamic Jihad condemned the US administration's decision to impose sanctions on some of its leaders and an institution that provides aid to the wounded and prisoners. The movement said that this decision was "a continuation of siding with the occupation" and "evidence of the American blockade imposed on our people." On Tuesday, the US State Department announced the designation of Akram Al-Ajouri as a global terrorist. Al-Ajouri is a leader of the Islamic Jihad and is accused of receiving training and financial support from Iran. In another context, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said that Israel must realize that there is no "blank check" even in times of war. He warned Israel of the consequences of not making concrete efforts to deliver food and medicine to civilians. He also expressed his deep concern about the increase in settler attacks in the West Bank.
