By Mohamed Majed
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, said Saturday that the Israeli army bombed a location in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli hostages were held, confirming that the bombing was repeated to ensure their death.
Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for the group, said on Telegram: "The occupation army recently bombed a location where some enemy prisoners were present and repeated the bombing to ensure their death."
"We have intelligence confirming that the enemy deliberately bombed the location with the aim of killing the prisoners and their guards,” Obaida noted.
He added: "Our fighters attempted to rescue the enemy prisoners and succeeded in retrieving one of them, whose fate remains unknown."
Obaida held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his government, and the Israeli army "fully responsible for this event and the lives of their prisoners."
A video released by al-Qassam Brigades showed the bombed location and a person without clarifying whether they were killed or injured, with no facial features shown.
The video included a statement: "Netanyahu and [Chief of General Staff Herzi] Halevi seek to get rid of their prisoners in Gaza by all means."
Israel estimates that there are currently 101 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.
Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed due to Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the ongoing conflict.
Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 44,800 victims, mostly women and children, since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, 2023.
The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and the blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief 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 war on Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala