A senior Hamas leader said that the Islamist militant group captured enough Israeli soldiers and civilian hostages during a surprise attack on Israel Saturday to free all Palestinian prisoners in the country’s prisons.
“We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. The fighting is still going on,” said Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, in an interview with Al Jazeera.
He claimed senior officers were among those captured and killed during the early morning attacks, the worst in 50 years, which left at least 200 Israelis dead and about 1,000 wounded.
Hamas militants celebrate airstrikes against Israel Saturday.AP A senior Hamas leader said the Islamist militant group captured enough Israeli soldiers and civilian hostages during a surprise attack on Israel.AP The Islamic militant group captured Israelis in exchange for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in the country’s prisons . AP
Al-Arouri declined to give the total number of hostages captured during the raid, but the Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed to have captured “dozens” of Israelis in a Telegram broadcast, CNN reported.
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“Our prisoner entered [Israeli] prison, their freedom is getting bigger,” said Al-Arouri. “What we have in our hands will free all our prisoners. The longer the fighting continues, the higher the number of prisoners.”
“We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. The fighting is still going on,” said Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau.AP
According to the latest figures by Addameer, a prison non-profit, nearly 5,200 Palestinians are in Israeli prisons, including 33 women and 170 minors.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that a “large” number of soldiers and civilians had been taken hostage, but did not release specific information.
It said that “dozens” of hostages had been held by Hamas in a kibbutz in the southern part of the country while others had been taken to Gaza, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The worst attack on Israel in 50 years: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches its biggest attack on Israel in 50 years.
More than 200 Israelis have been killed and at least 1,500 injured with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli cities.
Hamas terrorists are seen taking women hostage and parading them through the streets in a gruesome video.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and promised Hamas would pay an “unprecedented price.”
Gaza health officials reported 230 Palestinians killed with more than 1,700 injured.
Palestinians transport captured Israeli civilians, center, from Kibbutz Kfar Azza to the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7. 2023.AP
It was unclear how many hostages – both military and civilians – had been taken by Hamas although early reports on Saturday put the number at 52.
News wire pictures showed elderly women being carried by Hamas militants in golf carts, and young women, covered in blood from the attack, being piled into vehicles full of men.
The Israeli military launched a massive airstrike on the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing at least 198 Palestinians and injuring hundreds of others, according to reports from Palestinian health authorities.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
