Gaza/Jerusalem: Hamas has announced that 33 Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been killed, with some others still missing, due to Israeli military operations.
A video posted on Monday by Hamas included footage of past Israeli attacks on areas in Gaza where Israeli hostages were held, resulting in their deaths, as well as messages from some hostages, Xinhua news agency reported.
Hamas warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “obstinacy and continued aggression are increasing the death toll of enemy prisoners,” emphasising that if the “crazy war” continues, “you may lose your prisoners forever. Act before it’s too late.”
This video from Hamas came two days after the Al-Qassam Brigades, its military wing, released a video on Saturday showing an Israeli prisoner with US citizenship being held in Gaza.
Edan Alexander, who paused multiple times due to his emotional distress, said he had been held captive for more than 420 days and urged the Israeli government and US President-elect Donald Trump to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Separately, the Israeli army announced on Monday that an Israeli-American soldier, previously believed to be held hostage in Gaza, is now presumed dead.
In a statement, the army identified the soldier as Captain Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, and said he was killed during Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, 2023. It added that his body is being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Born in New York, Neutra enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and served as a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion, according to the army.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 44,466, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Monday.
More than 3,700 Palestinians have been killed or went missing since Israel intensified military operations in northern Gaza on October 5, according to the media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government.
(IANS)
