The Hamas movement has told mediators in talks with Israel that its first demand for de-escalation of the current situation is a ceasefire, said Khaled Mashal, head of the movement's political bureau outside Palestine, RIA Novosti reported.

"Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt are working to de-escalate and to stop Israeli attacks in Gaza and Jerusalem," Mashal said.

The Hamas demands include the withdrawal of Israeli security officials from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, the free entry of the faithful there, the cessation of the eviction of residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and the release of all those arrested during the recent escalation of the situation.

Meanwhile, Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced the shelling of the Israeli cities of Beersheba and Ashdod in response to the Israeli airstrike on the El Shatt refugee camp in Gaza. Israel had attacked this camp, killing 8 people.