A rocket explodes in Gaza during an Israeli raid (Photo: Getty).
Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, told RT during a Hamas delegation's visit to Moscow this week that Hamas cannot release the hostages in Gaza until the Israeli army stops its bombing campaign in the enclave.
Mr Naim said Hamas had been unable to gather the necessary information about the identities of the hostages held at various locations scattered across Gaza, amid ongoing Israeli air strikes and a blockade that has cut off all communications within Gaza.
“The captives are being held by different groups in different locations,” Mr Naim said, adding that Hamas “always calls for a ceasefire so that it can gather the necessary information” and compile a detailed list of the hostages.
Hamas officials also claimed that some of those believed to be being held by Hamas "are not in the Gaza Strip".
Mr Naim confirmed that Hamas had received questions about several people potentially taken hostage in the October 7 attack on Israel and had “passed on” these requests to forces “on the ground”.
He said Hamas had been ready to release all hostages from the first day of the conflict, but could only do so when it was “feasible, including from a security point of view”. He did not elaborate on the exact requirements that would need to be met to release the hostages.
The official said Hamas militants “did their best” to keep the hostages alive, while confirming that around 50 of them may have been killed in Israeli bombardments.
“They bombed thousands of homes without warning,” Mr Naim added.
Mr Naim also warned that if the Israeli army did not "stop immediately", the fighting could "not be limited to the Palestinian border".
“The conflict will spread across the region and possibly beyond,” Mr. Naim said, adding that the conflict was fundamentally political and needed to be resolved through political means.
Mr Naim also warned against turning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious conflict, as it would pit Israel against the global Muslim community and would lead to " worldwide instability".
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwa also announced on October 28 that Hamas is ready to carry out a hostage exchange deal with Israel for Palestinian prisoners.
"We are ready to immediately conduct a prisoner exchange agreement, including the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by Hamas," Sinwa said.
Earlier, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said Hamas was ready to release the hostages taken in the attack on October 7 if Israel released all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
"If the other side wants all these detainees to be released at once, we are ready to do it. If they want to do it step by step, we are also ready," Mr. Obeida said.
According to the Israeli military, some 229 hostages are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said “nearly 50” hostages had been killed in Israeli attacks in the three weeks since the conflict began.
Source
Comment (0)