Hamas captures alleged Israeli spy dolphin

It claimed that Hamas suspects the dolphin was used to film the training of naval commandos, and said the dolphin was fitted with a type of dart gun.

Hamas claims that the dolphin, captured in the Mediterranean off the coast of the Palestinian-occupied Gaza Strip, was equipped with “spying equipment”, including cameras. In exchange, Hamas would have to end rocket fire and tunneling into Israel.

A delegation of Hamas officials, led by Ismail Haniyeh, will travel to Cairo soon for talks with Egypt’s intelligence chief about a long-term truce with Israel, Arab media outlets have reported.

The Palestinian Authority yesterday accused Hamas of holding secret talks with Israel that would endorse the separation of Palestinian territories. Hamas has yet to release photographic evidence or an official statement concerning the dolphin, but it has posted an article about the alleged capture on its website, French news agency AFP wrote.

The official also said that a full Turkish-Israeli reconciliation is also on the horizon, and the issue over the compensation for the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla raid “is likely to be resolved very soon”.

Mr Aktay said that, on a visit to Turkey, Mr Meshaal had discussed details of the truce as mediated by Mr Blair.

It shows the extent of Israel’s “anger” and “indignation” at the formation of Hamas’s naval combat unit, the paper reports.

A bus with about fifty Palestinians on it was travelling from Rafah on the Egypt-Gaza border to Cairo airport when it was ambushed, the security sources said. The daily pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat spotlighted that Israel is ready to both “entirely” lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and create a passageway to connect it with Cyprus for merchandising purposes. The agreement, carried out unilaterally by Hamas without consulting the Palestinian Authority, strengthens the political divide with Fatah and will eventually detach Gaza completely from the West Bank and Jerusalem, he argued.