Hamas issued the most powerful message on Israeli hostages in Gaza on Thursday night, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyani’s ground invasion of Gaza city meaning Israel has lost the chance to drive hostages out of its territory.
In a message written in Hebrew and addressed to Israeli forces and leaders, the Al-Chasam Brigade, a military wing in Hamas, said that Netanyahu effectively issued a death sentence for hostages.
“Your prisoners are distributed in the vicinity of Gaza city, and as long as Netanyahu has decided to kill them, we will not be concerned about their lives. The initiation and expansion of this criminal operation means that whether you live or die, their fate is the same as (Ron Arad).”
Arad is an officer of the Israeli Air Force Weapons System, which went missing in Lebanon in 1986, and is believed to have been captured by military group Amal and later handed over to Hezbollah.
In a subsequent statement, Hamas said they were preparing to fight and “Gaza will be a graveyard for your soldiers.”
CNN contacted the Prime Minister’s office for comment.
Hamas’ statement calls for public rage over Netanyahu and his government to continue to appear within Israel, with weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv calling for an end to the war and a ceasefire to reach a heated pitch.
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Force spokesman Effie tried to reassure the hostage families after the IDF was forced to a reporter about whether they knew where the hostages were.
“Hostages are always in our minds,” Deflin said.
However, many hostage families also say that the plan to take away Israeli city will result in the death sentence for their loved ones. There are 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, of which 20 are believed to be alive.
In a video shared this week by the Hostage and Missing Family Forum, Einav Zangarkar, mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangarkar, stands outside the Netanyahu home with other hostage families, screaming in agony.
“Come out and tell me how you lied to my face. Say you’re going to bring everyone back by bringing an agreement. Tell me how you lied to me.”
Meanwhile, international condemnations of Israel’s actions continue to propose a UN Commission report, which proposes sanctions by Israel’s biggest trading partner, the European Union, and concludes that Israel is violating genocide.
Israel denied the accusation.
Prior to the much-anticipated ground invasion, Israeli military accelerated airstrikes and artillery fire at the high towers of Gaza, the most populous city of Enclave.
Approximately one million people (almost half of the territory’s population) live in and around Gaza City. Israel has tried to force local people to evacuate, but Gaza is becoming less and less safe. Palestinians continue to escape the north by foot, by car and by bicycle, carrying what they can do to the increasingly crowded south.
On Thursday, the IDF estimated that half of the city’s residents (450,000 people) remained, while CNN has numbers that cannot be confirmed independently.
New attacks arise as the United Nations and others warn that parts of Gaza are officially declared under hunger, only to deepen the already devastating humanitarian crisis.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Thursday that four people, including children, have died of malnutrition over the past 24 hours, bringing 435 starvation-related deaths since the start of the war.
More than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since October 7, 2023.
