According to an internal statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday, Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to conduct a hostage rescue operation similar to the one carried out in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp in June and that any such Threats have been made to “neutralize” the detainees if action is taken. ,
In a November 22 statement, Hamas told its operatives not to consider what consequences could follow the instructions and said it held Israel responsible for the fate of the hostages.
A senior Hamas source told Reuters the statement was relayed to its factions by the intelligence unit of the group’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, but did not say when an Israeli operation was expected. .
There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the statement. On Wednesday, Israeli media quoted Defense Minister Israel Katz as saying that pressure on Hamas was increasing and that this time “we will actually be able to push through a hostage agreement”.
On June 9, Israeli forces in Israel’s Nusrat rescue operation freed four hostages who had been held by Hamas since October 2023, in a raid Palestinian officials said killed more than 200 people, making it the bloodiest Israeli raid of the war. Became one of the attacks.
In the Hamas statement, the group called on its activists to “tighten” the living conditions of detainees and said this should be done in accordance with instructions issued after the Nusrat operation.
In a section titled “Recommendations”, Hamas also instructed its operatives to “activate neutralization orders as an immediate and prompt response to any adventurism of the enemy.”
Israel launched its operation in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage, according to Israeli data.
According to Palestinian figures, Israel’s military campaign has so far killed more than 44,500 Palestinians and injured many others. The attack has reduced much of Gaza to rubble.
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