The Palestinian movement Hamas has informed all interested parties that it does not plan to engage in talks about the fate of its Israeli hostages as long as fighting continues, Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh said.
“We have informed all parties that the cases of our Israeli captives will not be opened until fighting ends,” he noted, as cited by the Al Hadath TV channel.
Haniyeh added that “it will only be possible to resolve the issue of captive Israelis on Hamas’ terms.”
According to Haniyeh, the operation that radical fighters were conducting in Israel is “a Palestinian fight, both in terms of the decision [about the operation] and its implementation.”
Musa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, earlier announced the capture of at least 100 more hostages, who, according to Palestinian sources, include Israeli troops, namely high-ranking officers, along with civilians. Shortly before that, Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhalah claimed that over 30 Israeli citizens had been captured in an area bordering the Gaza Strip. According to him, there are Israeli service members and Jewish settlers among those captured.
On October 7, members of the Hamas radical Palestinian movement entered Israel following a shelling attack from Gaza. According to the latest data, clashes and strikes have killed almost 800 Palestinians and left over 4,000 wounded. About 800 Israelis have lost their lives and over 2,000 have been wounded.