Israel agreed to lift the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip as part of its deal to secure the release of Gilad Schalit, Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzouk was quoted by the Ma'an news agency as saying on Tuesday.
Abu Marzouk stated that Israel had used Schalit's captivity as a pretext to blockade Gaza, but there had been "unofficial agreements" to end the siege during negotiations with the German mediator."This was confirmed in the last negotiations," Abu Marzouk reportedly said.
