LONDON: A number of prominent columnists have quit British weekly the Jewish Chronicle after it published contentious claims about Hamas’s leader and the remaining Israeli hostages leaving the Gaza Strip.

The story, supposedly based on intelligence sources, claimed a document had been uncovered showing that Yahya Sinwar and the detainees would be smuggled out of the territory into Egypt.

But the claims were questioned in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to withdraw troops from a strip of land on the border between Gaza and Egypt, claiming they were needed to prevent arms smuggling.

The Israeli military has reportedly said it has no knowledge of such a document.

Hamas wants Israeli troops out of the territory and their presence is a key sticking point in talks for a peace deal.

Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Wallis Simons on Sunday apologised for the article and said it had “cut all ties” with the freelancer responsible. His work had also been removed from the JC website.