By Nour Abuaisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) — Palestinian group Hamas said Monday that 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been killed, mostly due to Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7 last year.
In a video posted on Telegram, the resistance group stated that "33 Israeli prisoners were killed, and some of their whereabouts remain unknown because of (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions and obstinacy."
The group warned that continued Israeli aggression would increase the death toll among Israeli hostages. “With your relentless war, you may lose your prisoners forever. Do what you must before it’s too late.”
Hamas detailed several incidents, including the deaths of four hostages and their captors on Oct. 9, 2023, and nine others on Oct. 14, 2023, as a result of intensive Israeli bombing.
Another hostage was reported to have been killed on Dec. 8, 2023, during an Israeli operation attempting to rescue a captive soldier, who died as a result.
The group also said that seven hostages were killed on March 1, 2024, after weeks of losing contact with their captors, while three others were killed in an Israeli massacre in Gaza on June 9, 2024.
Additionally, a hostage was reportedly killed by a guard, and two others were seriously injured in August.
On Sept. 2, 2024, Hamas added in the statement, six prisoners were killed in an Israeli operation in Rafah, with their bodies later recovered from a tunnel by Israel.
The group also noted the deaths of two woman hostages in northern Gaza, one on Oct. 21, 2024, and the other on Nov. 21, 2024, due to ongoing Israeli military operations.
Israel estimates that there are currently 101 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.
Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last October, killing more than 44,400 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,000.
The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.
On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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 Mohammad Sio