Hamas will only release more than 100 hostages remaining from Gaza under a permanent ceasefire, a spokesman for the terror group said Thursday as Israel widened its offensive.
A “partial or temporary cessation of aggression” will not allow the release of the approximately 115 hostages still in Palestinian territory, a Hamas spokesman said.
The warning from Hamas comes as Israel has escalated its ground war in Gaza over the past week, forcing tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians to once again flee for safety.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant Thursday and stressed “the importance of protecting Gaza’s civilians and expediting humanitarian aid.”
On the same day, Israeli forces targeted Khan Younis, the main town in the southern Gaza Strip packed with families displaced by the conflict.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was working to destroy “buildings rigged with explosives” and eliminate Hamas cells in Khan Younis.
In the 24 hours from Thursday to Friday, 210 people in Gaza were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to Palestinian health authorities.
More than 20,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
Hamas said Thursday that a “partial or temporary cessation of aggression” would not allow the release of more than 100 hostages from Gaza. REUTERS About 115 hostages remain in custody and Hamas says only a permanent ceasefire will free them. ZUMAPRESS.com
Israel’s war cabinet was supposed to meet Thursday to discuss plans for Gaza after the war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the meeting, according to the Times of Israel.
In addition, Israeli forces on Thursday allegedly opened fire on an aid convoy that had “returned from Northern Gaza along a route established by the Israeli Army,” according to Thomas Whitedirector of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“The leader of our international convoy and his team were not injured but one vehicle was damaged,” he revealed on X. “Aid workers should not be targeted.”
The aid convoy was marked with a UN badge and had delivered aid, including flour, to the people of Northern Palestine. Before the effort, the UN said it had been coordinating with the Israeli military on the route it would take, Juliette Touma, a UNRWA spokeswoman said, according to The New York Times.
The IDF has previously claiming UNRWA is controlled by Hamasbut the organization has responded to the allegations.
Phillipe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, said on Friday: “Over the past few days, several statements from Israeli officials have insinuated or outright held UNRWA responsible for the gap in aid deliveries in the Gaza Strip. These statements are amplified by Israeli mainstream and social media and others, creating a stream of baseless misinformation.”
Dozens were killed Thursday during Israeli bombardment across Gaza as it stepped up its offensive in an effort to destroy the terror group. Getty Images Israel has reportedly attacked a UN aid truck leaving Northern Gaza, retaliating against militant groups in Lebanon. Getty Images
Lazzarini said the delay in aid was due to ongoing airstrikes and limited access to Gaza, among other things.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
