Hamas Warns Hostages โat Risk as Israel Prepares for Gaza city Offensive
Doha, โขQatar – Hamas officials haveโข warned that the lives โคof Israeli hostages held in Gaza are at increasingโค risk as israelโ signals an imminent large-scale assault โคonโ Gaza City, despite ongoing negotiations for a comprehensiveโ ceasefire and prisoner โคexchange. The warning comesโฃ amid stalled talks and escalating international pressure over the โconduct of the war, which has โresulted in a staggering death toll.
For months,โ Hamas has stated its willingness toโ releaseโ all Israeli โcaptives in โexchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a completeโ end to the war in Gaza, andโฃ the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.However,Israeliโข Prime โฃMinister Benjaminโฃ netanyahu has repeatedlyโข rejected thes proposals,reportedly favoringโฃ phasedโ agreements thatโค woudl allow him โto maintain control over the negotiation process and โimpose additional conditions.โ This impasse has fueled accusations, both withinโ Israel and internationally,โข that Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict for โpolitical gain, โpotentially at the expense of the hostages’ lives.
The situation evokes the unresolved case of Ron Arad, an Israeliโ air force navigator whose plane went down โover Lebanonโ in โ1986. Hamas’s military wing, โthe Ezzedineโ Al-Qassam โbrigades, recentlyโฃ released 46 โphotographs of hostages, eachโค labeled withโฃ arad’s name,โฃ a poignant reminder of the decades-longโ uncertainty โขsurrounding theโ fate of Israelis missing in conflict. Arad was initially held by Shiite groups in Lebanon andโ is โnowโ presumed dead, his remains never recovered.
Negotiationsโ suffered a setback on September 9thโ when โan Israeli strike โฃin Doha killed five Hamas โฃleaders who wereโข reportedly discussingโฃ a U.S.-brokered โproposal to end โthe war. As of October 2023, โnearlyโ 65,000 Palestinians have been killed inโ Gaza,โฃ according to reports.
The conflict has also drawn international legal scrutiny. โขThe International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister โYoav Gallant, alleging warโฃ crimes and โคcrimes against humanityโ committed in Gaza.Israel is also currently facing a genocide โcaseโข before the International โขcourt of Justiceโฃ regarding โits military actions in the enclave.
