The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says Israel does not care at all about its soldiers being held captive in the besieged Gaza Strip, stressing that its failed attempt to set free a captured troop that resulted in his death attests to this fact.
“The Zionist Occupation believes it is possible to free its captives through uncalculated adventures. The incident confirms once again that the regime does not care at all about the lives of the Zionist prisoners in Gaza,” the Gaza-based group said in a statement published on its Telegram account.
Hamas praised its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, for foiling the Israeli army’s attempt to reach the captured soldier, saying al-Qassam fighters exhibited their valor and vigilance.
The movement also reiterated its resolve to thwart all Israeli schemes and plots in Gaza.
The Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement on Friday that an Israeli soldier held in Gaza was killed in a clash with the Israeli military when it tried to release him.
“A special Israeli force was found trying to advance to set free an enemy prisoner,” it said, adding, “Clashes with the Israeli forces led to the killing of the captured soldier Sa’ar Baruch, 25, carrying ID number 207775032.”
A rifle and a communication device were also seized from the “enemy forces,” the statement said.
“Israeli warplanes intervened and bombed the place with a series of raids to cover their withdrawal,” it added.
On Saturday evening, the Israeli military announced the deaths of five soldiers, one of whom succumbed to wounds suffered on October 7. Four of them were killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend.
The toll of slain Israeli soldiers during the ground offensive against Hamas has risen to 97.
At least two more Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, bringing the death toll of Israeli soldiers since October 7 to 418, local media reported.
The two soldiers are First Sergeant Kobi Dvash, 41, a reserve soldier in the Armored Corps from Tiberias, and First Sergeant Eyal Meir Berkovitch, 28, from the 699th Battalion of the 551st Brigade from al-Quds, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation quoted the Israeli army as saying.
Israel resumed its military offensive against the Gaza Strip on December 1 after the end of a weeklong truce with Hamas.
Israel launched the devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The regime has killed at least 17,700 people, most of them women and children, in Gaza since. More than 48,000 people have been wounded as well.
