Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on Sunday accusing Hamas of holding the bodies of 20 Israeli hostages who died in captivity. According to a senior IDF official, Hamas is trying to leverage the corpses in negotiations for more aid and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The ultimatum comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that of the 137 hostages believed to still be in Hamas custody, 20 are dead. More than 100 were freed in an aid and prisoner pact last month.
In a televised broadcast, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, threatened to kill all of its remaining hostages if Israel doesn’t agree to all of its demands. These demands include more aid for Gaza residents and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners. “Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership … nor its supporters … can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance,” Obeida said.
Israel slammed Hamas’ claims that hostages were killed during Israeli airstrikes as propaganda. The country has accused Hamas of refusing to hand over the bodies of its dead as part of the stalled hostage exchange negotiations. These claims come after Israel has destroyed over 22,000 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7th.
A senior IDF official claimed that Hamas is starting to show signs of breaking as a result of Israel’s advancements in the northern and southern parts of Gaza. The destruction of key Hamas targets, including headquarters, has created command and control issues for the group. However, there are still areas in the Gaza Strip that Hamas controls militarily. The official warned that fighting will continue to intensify as Hamas holds out for as long as it can.
The IDF is currently focusing its bombardments on Hamas targets in Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza. It is estimated that over 7000 Hamas terrorists have been killed in the war, along with over 17,700 Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-linked Health Ministry. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israel to do more to avoid civilian deaths, but acknowledged that Israel has the final say on how it conducts the war.
Blinken also defended America’s decision to bypass a congressional vote to sell nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition to Israel. The secretary of state said this was a small amount compared to the total aid that Israel needs. He has called on Congress to pass a $100 billion aid bill for Israel, Ukraine, and other national security necessities. According to Blinken, the US is having discussions with Israel about the duration and tactics used in the war, but ultimately, these decisions are for Israel to make.