The hostage disaster has riveted Israelis reeling from the worst assault of their historical past. (File)
Hamas aired video on Sunday exhibiting three Israeli hostages it’s holding in Gaza during which they urged their authorities to cease the offensive in opposition to the Palestinian group and produce about their launch, as either side marked the one hundredth day of the struggle.
The undated 37-second video of Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, ended with the chyron: “Tomorrow we are going to inform you of their destiny.”
Hamas mentioned earlier on Sunday it had misplaced contact with some hostages as Israeli forces shelled Gaza, noting that they may have been killed within the course of. On the outset of the struggle, it additionally threatened to execute hostages in retaliation for Israeli navy strikes.
Israeli officers have typically declined to reply to Hamas’ public messaging on the hostages, casting it as psychological warfare. Hagar Mizrahi, a forensic official with Israel’s Well being Ministry, informed native TV on Dec. 31 that autopsies of useless hostages who had been recovered discovered causes of demise inconsistent with Hamas’ account they’d died in air strikes.
However Israel has additionally made clear it’s conscious of the dangers to hostages from its offensive, and is taking precautions.
“The navy operation takes time. It obligates us to be exact, and we’re adapting it in accordance with the threats and the hostages who’re within the discipline,” chief armed forces spokesperson Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari mentioned on Sunday.
Of some 240 folks seized by Hamas in an October 7 cross-border killing spree that sparked the struggle, round half had been launched in a November truce. Israel says 132 stay in Gaza and that 25 of them have died in captivity.
The hostage disaster has riveted Israelis reeling from the worst assault of their historical past. Some hostages’ relations have referred to as on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enter one other truce and even name off the struggle. He has vowed to combat on till Hamas is destroyed, which he argued would allow the hostages’ launch.
Final month, Netanyahu mentioned in parliament he had requested Beijing to assist free Argamani, whose mom Liora is Chinese language. Affected by a terminal sickness, Liora Argamani has appealed to be reunited along with her daughter earlier than she dies.
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