Death of Israeli captives proves failure of Israel’s use of force to free them: Hamas

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Thursday that the death of six Israeli hostages during the time of an airstrike near where they were being held proves the failure of the military option to rescue the captives.

The Israeli army claimed Wednesday that the six hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza over the summer were probably shot dead by their captors in February, around the same time that an Israeli airstrike hit near where they were being held in the southern city of Khan Younis.

"The death of more captives at the hands of their army confirms the failure of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's theory of freeing the captive by force, and that military pressure does not free his hostages, but kills them," Hamas said in a statement.

"Netanyahu is directly responsible for the death of dozens of the captives because he failed to reach an agreement,” the resistance group said.

"There is no alternative to stopping the aggression, withdrawal of the occupation forces, and (reaching) an exchange deal,” it stressed.

Israel, which according to prisoners’ groups has approximately 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons, estimates that there are 101 Israeli captives in Gaza. Hamas says that 33 Israeli captives had been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following an attack by Hamas in October 2023, killing more than 44,530 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,500.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions denouncing the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy the population.

Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar