Hours after Israel Defence Forces sent tanks and troops into Gaza to ‘prepare battlefield’, a spokesman from Hamas’s military wing on Thursday claimed that approximately 50 hostages held by its militants in Gaza have been killed in Israeli air strikes since October 7 when they first began.
Abu Obeida, the spokesperson of Hamas’s military wing, however, didn’t provide any further details. The statement from Hamas comes days after it released four hostages – an American mother and her daughter on October 21 and two Israeli women on October 23.
Israel’s military has so far confirmed 224 hostages being held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
More than 1,400 people, including children, women and foreign nationals were killed in the brutal October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants. The militants also kidnapped more than 220 people after the attack. The hostages are believed to be held held in underground tunnels Hamas has built over the years to protect its militants from Israeli strikes.
The Israeli military had earlier rubbished a similar claim when Hamas said 11 hostages were killed in Israeli air strikes. The IDF has back then termed Hamas claims a “fake propaganda” and said that it has its own information on hostages.
Earlier today, the Israel Defense Forces had said that it carried out a “targeted raid” overnight in northern Gaza using tanks and infantry troops. While this was not its full-scale ground invasion, but the IDF said the raid was “preparation for the next stages of the war.”
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry has said that 7,000 people have been killed since Israeli air strikes on Gaza began.