A Qatari delegation was set to arrive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday with a fresh infusion of cash, Palestinian media reported on Saturday.
The delegation was originally scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Saturday but was reportedly delayed due to the recent surge of violence between Hamas and Israel.
The report further said that U.N. envoy to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov related to Israel on behalf of Hamas that the terrorist group was interested in maintaining quiet, and that it claimed Israel was not fulfilling its part of the unofficial ceasefire agreement.
The report came after two rocket attacks on Israel, including one that scored a direct hit on a Chabad-Lubavitch yeshivah, as well as a rash of incendiary balloons launched against Israeli communities, followed by Israeli reprisal attacks. In addition, thousands of Gaza residents converged on the border Friday, with hundreds rioting, throwing explosives and rocks at troops, and trying to breach the border.
The incendiary balloons started at least seven fires, including one in the Be’eri nature reserve, and two near Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
According to report by Israel’s Channel 13, Hamas sources claimed to have refused Israeli demands to return the bodies in exchange for quiet in Gaza and a renewal of fund transfers from Qatar.
The bodies are believed to have been in Hamas’s possession since they were captured during Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014. Hamas is also holding captive Israeli civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.
