On the 100th day of the worst war between Israelis and Palestinians since 1948, the Islamist group Hamas released this Sunday, January 14, a video of three of the hundreds of hostages it has held since last October 7 in the Gaza Strip. , in which the captives ask the Israeli government to stop the attacks to allow for a release. Israel continues not to know the location of the hostages and despite the families' demand for a truce, Tel Aviv affirms that it will not stop the offensive on Palestinian territory.
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In a televised speech this Sunday, January 14, on the 100th day of the war in the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, warned that “many” hostages “probably would have been killed recently.” and attributed “full responsibility” for his fate to Israel.
“With regard to the Zionist hostages, we want to say that the whereabouts of many of them have been unknown for a few weeks (…) they have probably been murdered recently and those who remain are in great danger with every passing hour.”
In videos released by Hamas, three Israeli hostages appear asking their government to stop the attack against the Islamist movement and release them. The 37-second video ends with an intimidating message from Abu Obieda toward Israel: “Wait for us… tomorrow we will tell you their destination.”
Obeida also warned that “groups allied with the Axis of Resistance will increase their attacks” against Israeli troops in the coming days. One of those groups would be the Lebanese Hezbollah supported by Iran. A warning that increases regional escalation tension and adds to the tension in the Red Sea.
Israel's response to Hamas threats over hostages
Despite warnings from Hamas, Israeli officials are reluctant to respond to the Islamist group's public messages about the hostages, describing them as psychological warfare.
The situation of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 is a time bomb that puts pressure on the Israeli Government. The Army is accused by Islamist militants of causing the deaths of hostages in airstrikes in December. Which would show that the Israeli offensive is directly affecting the hostages in Gaza.
However, Hagar Mizrahi, a forensic official at Israel's Ministry of Health, at the time stated that autopsies on the recovered bodies of the dead hostages allegedly revealed that the cause of death was not airstrikes.
Situation of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
Of the approximately 240 hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel on October 7, half of them were freed under a truce in November. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza and between 25 and 33 of them have died.
Hamas freed more than 100 of the more than 240 hostages captured on October 7 in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners during a brief ceasefire in November. Almost all of those released on both sides were women and minors. Therefore, of the 132 hostages who remain in Gaza, 111 are men, 19 women, 2 children; and in total 11 foreigners.
The Islamist group has since said it will not release any more hostages until the war ends and will in return demand the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.
Some relatives of the hostages are constantly calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign another truce or even stop the war. But Netanyahu pledged to keep fighting until Hamas is eliminated, saying this would allow the hostages to be released.
Israel has stated that it is aware of the risks to which the hostages are exposed as a result of its offensive and that it is supposedly “taking the necessary precautions.”
With Reuters, AP and local media
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