Hamas says 13 captives including foreigners killed by Israeli raids on Gaza

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Friday said 13 of the hostages it captured on Saturday were killed due to the Israeli raids on Gaza in the past 24 hours.

In a brief statement, Al-Qassam Brigades said among those captives killed were foreigners, but did not specify their nationalities.

Six of them were killed in the northern part of Gaza, seven were killed in Gaza city, and three others were killed in different areas, which all came under Israeli raids, the statement added.

The exact count of the Israeli prisoners and captives, including some foreigners, who are currently held in Gaza remains unclear.

The ongoing conflict began when Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said it was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip in response.

The number of Palestinians killed from Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip has risen to 1,537, the Health Ministry in Gaza announced Thursday. Among the dead were 500 children and 276 women. More than 6,600 people were injured.

The Israeli death toll from the Hamas operation has reached 1,300, and the number of wounded was reported to be 3,300, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN).