Cairo – The armed wing of Hamas said on Monday it has followed new procedures related to hostages since June as tensions escalated with Israel. This comes days after Israeli forces found the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah, Gaza.
Abu Ubaida, a Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesman confirmed that new instructions had been issued but was not specific. According to reports, these protocols were issued after an Israeli rescue operation in June that freed four hostages but killed dozens of Palestinians including women and children.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of executing the hostages, stating they were shot in the back of their head. He vowed that Hamas would pay a terrible price for their actions. However, senior officials from Hamas, such as Sami Abu Zuhri and Ezzat El Rashq claimed that Netanyahu was responsible for hostage deaths due to refusing to negotiate their release and putting the hostages in danger.
An agreement between Hamas and Israel, in order to end the war and free Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza held by Hamas, has not been reached yet. While Hamas demands the end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Netanyahu insists that only the defeat of Hamas could bring about the end of the conflict.
The development has marked yet another dramatic turn in the strife between Israel and Hamas, as each side blames the other for the continuing deterioration of conditions in Gaza.