A letter supposedly written by Hamas government officials inside of Gaza ordered civil employees to remain in the northern part of the Strip, a statement by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) revealed on Friday.
“In an official directive, the Hamas government ordered its employees not to leave northern Gaza for southern Gaza. The message threatens punitive measures against employees who attempt to leave the north,” COGAT said on a Twitter/X post.
The statement also explained that this was another example of Hamas “exploiting civilians as human shields, prioritizing its goals over the lives and safety of Gaza’s residents.”
The translation of the letter said, “Instruct your competent authority to circulate to all employees in your ministries and government institutions not to leave the northern Gaza Strip.
"Work to thwart the Zionist enemy’s plans to displace the residents of the Strip, noting that the maximum penalties will be taken against employees who violate the instructions, and everyone is subject to legal and administrative responsibility.”
Trump: Negotiations with Hamas ‘very deep’
Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington was in "very deep" negotiations with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and urged them to release all hostages held in Gaza.
"We said let them all out, right now let them all out. And much better things will happen for them, but if you don't let them all out, it's going to be a tough situation, it's going to be nasty," Trump said, adding that Hamas was "asking for some things that are fine.
"Of the 20 people, there could be some who recently died," the US leader admitted.
Reuters contributed to this report.