Hamas on Saturday released “farewell” photos of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza, warning Israel’s offensive in Gaza City could put their lives in jeopardy.
Of the 251 people seized by Hamas during their attack on Israel in October 2023, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
The images were accompanied by a caption in Arabic and Hebrew saying: "Because of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's intransigence and [Chief of General Staff Eyal] Zamir's submission, this is a farewell photo at the beginning of the operation in Gaza."
Hamas published the picture on its official website, underscoring its position that the fate of the captives lies with the political decisions of Israel's leadership.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its readiness to conclude a comprehensive deal with Israel to release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, end the war on Gaza, and ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
However, Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected such proposals, insisting instead on partial arrangements that would allow him to delay and impose new conditions at each stage of negotiations.
Many in Israel and elsewhere have accused Netanyahu of dragging out the war for the sake of his own political survival, ignoring the hostages' survival.
The images also evoked the case of an Israeli pilot missing since 1986 after being shot down over Lebanon. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades released 46 photographs of hostages on its Telegram channel, each one labelled with the name of Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator whose plane went down over southern Lebanon in 1986 during the Lebanese civil war.
Arad was believed to have been initially held by Shiite groups in Lebanon and is now presumed dead, with his remains never returned.
On Sept. 9, Israel attacked a residential compound in Doha killing five Hamas leaders as they were discussing a US proposal to end the war in Gaza, where nearly 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
