Hamas chief vows ‘more intense’ border protests if blockade continues

Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh vows “more intense” protests on the Israel-Gaza border if Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of the coastal enclave are not lifted.

“Either the siege is lifted or you all will face more intense, greater and stronger marches,” Haniyeh says on Sunday during a speech at a mosque in Gaza City.

Haniyeh also says he met with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov today.

A diplomatic source told The Times of Israel yesterday that Mladenov was meeting with “all concerned parties” to help mediate a ceasefire between Israel and armed groups in Gaza as tensions flared over the weekend, with rocket barrages on Israeli towns and IDF retaliatory airstrikes hitting Hamas positions in Gaza.

— Adam Rasgon