Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said on Tuesday it is “ready to release” 12 captives taken into Gaza but “the situation on the ground” – Israeli air and land attacks – “is what hinders this from being completed”.
Israel said 241 people were taken captive by Hamas when it launched its attack on October 7. Four have been released so far – two Israelis and two Americans, Al-Jazeera reported.
A post on Qassam Brigades’ Telegram channel said it was ready to release “12 detainees in Gaza who hold foreign nationalities, but the occupation obstructed that”.
On Saturday, Spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades Abu Ubaida said more than 60 Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip are lost due to the regime’s incessant air raids against the blockaded territory.
“Since October 7 until now, the barbaric Zionist [regime’s] bombing of Gaza has caused the loss of more than 60 enemy captives in Gaza,” he said.
The spokesman added that the bodies of 23 captives are trapped under the rubble of the buildings and structures that have been destroyed by the Israeli strikes.
On October 28, Hamas’ leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said in a statement that the group was prepared for an “immediate” exchange of prisoners with Israel, but the regime was stalling.
Late last month, Hamas released a video of three captured Israeli women voicing outrage at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his declining to agree to a swap deal and a ceasefire.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas-led resistance groups waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the death toll from Israeli’s ongoing intensified onslaught on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has jumped to 10,328 people.
Among the killed are 4,237 children and 2,719 women. More than 25,956 others have also been injured as a result of Israeli forces’ attacks on Gaza, the ministry added.
