By Mohamed Majid
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on Friday released footage of four Israeli prisoners, who have been held in the Gaza Strip for over a decade.
The video, disseminated via Telegram, featured images of Sha’ul Aron, Hadar Goldin, Avraham Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed, who were captured in 2014.
Soldiers Aron and Goldin were captured by the al-Qassam Brigades during Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza.
While Israel maintained that Aron and Goldin were killed and that Hamas is in possession of their remains, the Palestinian group did not disclose their fate.
In addition to the soldiers, Hamas also holds Israeli civilians Mengistu and al-Sayed, who entered Gaza under mysterious circumstances in September and December of 2014.
The video posed a question: “Has their people and families forgotten them as their government and army have abandoned them?”
It further asked: “Will the prisoners of Oct. 7 spend as much time in captivity as these prisoners have?”
The footage was accompanied by the hashtags “#Time_Is_Running_Out” and “#Your_Government_Is_Lying.”
Amid a stifling Israeli siege on Gaza for 18 years, and Israel’s escalation of its violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, launched a surprise attack on Israeli military sites and settlements adjacent to the strip on Oct. 7, during which they captured about 239 people.
Under a deal in November, Hamas released 105 hostages in return of a week-long truce and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
While Tel Aviv says that 121 hostages still remain in Gaza, Hamas says dozens of them have died in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.
More than 35,800 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and over 80,290 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio