Hamas seeks to release all Palestinian prisoners in Israel, deputy head of the movement Salih al-Arouri said on Saturday, October 7, to the TV channel Al Jazeera.
“We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. Fighting continues,” he said, adding that the group had captured enough Israeli troops to force authorities to release all Palestinian prisoners in prison.
“Our prisoners are languishing in [израильских] prisons, their freedom is becoming increasingly clear. What we have in our hands will free all our prisoners. The longer the fighting continues, the greater the number of prisoners will be,” al-Arouri continued.
He specified that senior officers were among those captured, but did not provide any figures. According to the latest figures from Addameer, a prisoner rights NGO, there are about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including 33 women, 170 minors and more than 1,200 people in administrative detention.
Al Jazeera claims that the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 198 Palestinians and injuring hundreds, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
Al-Arouri said on television that the group is fighting for freedom.
“This is not a hit-and-run operation; we started an all-out battle. We expect the continuation of hostilities and the expansion of the front of hostilities. We have one main goal: our freedom and the freedom of our holy places. We will continue to fight until we are rewarded with victory, freedom and independence,” he said in an interview.
As observers noted that an Israeli ground invasion could be imminent, Hamas said it was prepared for a “worst-case scenario.”
On the morning of Saturday, October 7, Israeli territory was subjected to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The militants also invaded border areas in the south of the Jewish state. Against the backdrop of the situation, the Israeli authorities in the central part of the country introduced a special situation, and Defense Minister Yoav Galant ordered the call up of reservists for military service.
The Palestinian group Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. The Israeli side began striking targets in the Gaza Strip in response. Galant announced the war unleashed by Palestinian militants and announced the start of Operation Iron Swords.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, in connection with the shelling, ordered the conscription of reservists for military service, and also announced the introduction of a special situation throughout the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a speech broadcast on the politician’s social network account X, announced the country’s readiness to completely destroy Hamas. He also called on residents of the Gaza Strip to immediately leave the enclave.
As a result of the attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on Israel, the death toll reached 300 people and more than 1,500 were injured, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing the Ministry of Health.
The Palestinians are trying to ensure that future borders between the two countries follow lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, with a possible swap of territories. Palestine intends to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses to return to the 1967 borders and divide Jerusalem.
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