"Israel to assassinate Hamas leaders"

Zionist regime is currently planning to assassinate a senior Hamas leader before Egypt succeeds in brokering a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, a reliable Hamas source told the Beirut-based Al-Akhbar daily newspaper on Tuesday.

The aim is to force Hamas to accept Israeli stipulations, the source said.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamas had received reliable information that Zionist regime plans to assassinate a senior Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip. According to the source, "Israel is focusing on four Hamas men;  Isma'il Haniyeh, Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, Muhammad Deif and Ahmad Al-Ja'bary."

The source added that Zionist regime has been postponing its response to the Egyptian ceasefire efforts, which Hamas and Islamic Jihad have agreed on.

Zionist regime is awaiting the assassination of a major Hamas figure in order to have the upper hand before responding to the ceasefire offer. This Israeli stalling comes, according to Hamas sources, after the Israeli failure of "Operation Warm Winter," which left about 130 Palestinians dead, most of whom were civilians and children.

The stated aim of the operation had been to halt Palestinian projectile fire from the Gaza Strip.