Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops have stormed inside the Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza City, hoisting the Israeli flag inside the chambers.
The Palestinian Legislative Council was founded as the legislative body for the West Bank and Gaza following the Oslo Accords of 1993, but has not been in session since 2007 following a split between the Hamas and Fatah leadership and the election of Hamas in Gaza.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who posted the celebrated photo, it features members of the Golani Brigade of the IDF.
In a video published by Israel’s Kann News soon after the photo, an Israeli Commander standing in the square outside the building said the IDF was in control of the area.
This is just as the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas said it told Qatari mediators the group is ready to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in return for a five-day truce.
“The truce should include a complete ceasefire and allowing aid and humanitarian relief everywhere in the Gaza Strip,” Abu Ubaida, the Spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, al Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded audio published on the group’s Telegram channel.
He went on to accuse Israel of “procrastinating and evading” the price of the deal.