Hamdan said that this comes “in light of the defeats and resistance the Israeli army faces in ongoing fighting, especially in Khan Younis, as well as its failure to retrieve the rest of the captives”.
“It is an attempt to boost the army’s low morale in light of its failure to achieve any of its goals,” he added.
“As we wait for the official account from the resistance [Hamas], we point to news reports that indicate that the two captives were not in Hamas’s custody but rather held with a civilian family, which casts doubt on the credibility of Israel’s account and confirms its effort to exaggerate the incident.”
Four months in, fighters in the Qassam Brigades still have 134 captives, which “in itself is an achievement for the resistance”, he continued.
Meanwhile, Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said the three captives have died of wounds sustained in Israeli strikes.
Abu Obaida added the group will postpone releasing the slain captives’ names until the fate of the rest of the wounded captives becomes clear.
On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 1,200 Israelis, injury to 5,500 and the capture of at least 250 hostages.
In response, Israel waged its war on besieged Gaza Strip. So far, Israel has killed almost 28,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 68,000 others.
The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.
Israel estimates the presence of “137 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip”, according to media reports and statements from Israeli officials.
