Senior Hamas official: Israeli attack on Rafah will bring talks to a halt

On May 2, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Osama Hamdan, told the media on May 1 local time that if Israel attacks the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Hamas will stop all "indirect" negotiations with Israel. Hamdan said that Israel's threat to attack Rafah is a "blackmail" means of negotiation, and Hamas' military forces are capable of resisting Israel's military operation against Rafah.