The military wing of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says more than 60 Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip are lost due to the regime’s incessant airstrikes against the blockaded territory.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, made the announcement in a post on the brigades’ Telegram channel on Saturday.
“Since October 7 until now, the barbaric Zionist [regime’s] bombing of Gaza has caused the loss of more than 60 enemy captives in Gaza,” he said.
The spokesman added that the bodies of 23 captives are trapped under the rubble of the buildings and structures that have been destroyed by the Israeli strikes.
“It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza,” Abu Ubaida added.
On October 7, Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups captured around 250 Israeli soldiers and settlers during Operation al-Aqsa Storm, their biggest operation against the occupying entity in years.
Following the operation, Abu Ubaida said 200 of the captives were being held by al-Qassam Brigades, while the rest were kept by other Palestinian resistance factions.
Last month, the brigades announced that around 50 of the captives were killed in the devastating war that the Israeli regime has launched against Gaza since the Palestinians’ operation.
The Israeli war has so far killed at least 9,488 Palestinians, including nearly 3,900 children and 2,509 women. Over 24,160 Palestinians have also been wounded.
On October 28, Hamas’ leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said in a statement that the group was prepared for an “immediate” exchange of prisoners with Israel, but the regime was stalling.
The movement has so far released four of the captives on humanitarian grounds.
Late last month, Hamas released a video of three captured Israeli women voicing outrage at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his declining to agree to a swap deal and a ceasefire.
