Hamas appears to show bodies of two Israeli hostages
Hamas has appeared to show the dead bodies of two Israeli hostages after warning Israel they might be killed if it did not stop its bombardment of Gaza.
A Gaza child holding a rifle with a Hamas terrorist in a photo found by Israeli forces. Photo from IDF Spokesperson
A new video released by the Palestinian militant group on Monday purportedly showed the bodies of Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, who had appeared in an initial video on Sunday.
It also showed a third Israeli hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, saying the two were killed by “our own IDF strikes,” referring to the Israeli military.
Israel’s defence minister accused the Palestinian militant group of carrying out “psychological abuse”.
The three are among 240 people taken hostage by Islamist Hamas militants during a surprise cross-border rampage into southern Israel on October 7.
About half of those hostages were released during a short-lived November truce but Israel says 132 remain in the Gaza Strip and that 25 have died in captivity.
The three Israelis were shown in a Hamas video on Sunday in which the group urged the Israeli government to halt its aerial and ground offensive and bring about their release.
It ended with the caption: “Tomorrow (Monday) we will inform you of their fate.”
On Monday, keeping up the psychological pressure, Hamas released a video clip featuring the faces of the three hostages and offering three options: all three are killed, “some are killed, some are injured” or all three are spared.
It ended with the message: “Tonight we will inform you of their fate.”
Israeli forces continued bombarding targets across the Palestinian enclave on Monday and clashing with the militants in southern and central areas.
Twelve Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli air strike overnight on a house in Gaza City in the north, health officials said, while plumes of smoke rose above the main southern city of Khan Younis shelled by Israeli tanks.
The Hamas-affiliated Palestinian press agency SAFA reported fierce fighting between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in Khan Younis while Israeli tank barrages were also reported near al-Bureij and al-Maghazi in central Gaza.
Palestinian health officials in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said later on Monday seven people were killed and others hurt in an Israeli missile strike nearby the medical facility.
AAP
