Hamas said on Monday that 33 hostages in Gaza had been killed during the almost 14-month-old war between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in the enclave, without giving their nationalities. Hamas added that other hostages had gone missing.
“With the continuation of your crazy war,” it said in a statement addressed to Israel, “you could lose your hostages forever. Do what you have to do before it is too late.”
Hamas shortly afterward published a video it said detailed when and how the hostages had been killed, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their fate.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment, which came as Israeli military strikes continued in Gaza.
Hamas has called for an end to the war and total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal to release remaining hostages. Netanyahu has said the war will go on until Hamas is eradicated and poses no more threat to Israel.
Israel launched its war after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
According to The Times of Israel, it is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct 7, 2023 remain in Gaza including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the Israel Defence Force.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a week-long truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages were rescued alive by troops and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered including mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014 as well as two Israeli civilians who are thought to be alive after entering the Gaza Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 44,400 Palestinians and displaced most of Gaza’s population, Gaza officials say. Vast swathes of the enclave lie in ruins.
With Reuters inputs
