Hamas Threatens to Kill Remaining Hostages if ‘Demands of the Resistance’ Are Not Met
According to Israeli officials, 137 people remain captive in Gaza
Published 12/10/23 09:39 PM ET|Updated 11 hr ago
A spokesperson for the Palestinian militant group Hamas warned this weekend that hostages the group has taken from Israel will not leave Gaza “alive” unless Israeli officials meet the group’s demands.
“Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership… nor its supporters… can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance,” Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a televised statement, according to a report by the Telegraph.
Palestinian citizens carry out search and rescue operations amid the destruction caused by Israeli air strikes on Friday in Khan Yunis, Gaza.Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
According to Israeli officials, 137 people remain captive in Gaza as Israeli military forces work to take control of the entirety of the territory. A weeklong ceasefire agreement between the two factions at the end of November resulted in Hamas freeing 105 hostages, most of them women and children, including 80 Israelis.
Mediators with Qatar, Egypt and the United States that brokered the initial deal have sought to craft a new agreement to halt fighting in Gaza, but those efforts have yet to bear fruit.
Hamas sparked the current war when its fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 and killed some 1,200 people. In retaliation, Israeli forces have killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians and children, over the last two months and prevented humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.