By Mohammed Majed
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Two Israeli hostages were killed and eight others seriously injured in Israeli airstrikes in the last three days in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian group Hamas confirmed on Sunday.
The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, held Israel fully responsible for the safety of hostages in its captivity.
“The lives of (prisoners) are in danger amid the inability to provide them with appropriate treatment,” it added in a statement.
Hamas is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages following its Oct. 7 cross-border attack.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing at least 28,176 Palestinians and injuring 67,784 others, according to local health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
The Israeli onslaught has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi