Palestinian Hamas group has accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “sacrificing” its hostages after fresh strikes jolted Gaza this morning, raising questions over future ceasefires to bring back the Israeli citizens still held captive.
Israel resumed massive strikes on Gaza shattering a period of calm negotiated during a January truce, after which Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said it was a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages.
“Netanyahu’s decision to resume war is a decision to sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them,” said al-Rishq, accusing the Prime Minister of using the conflict as a political “lifeboat” to distract from internal crises.
The strikes during the fasting month of Ramzan left at least 220 dead, including women, children, and the elderly, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.
The attacks cast aspersions on the ceasefire talks between the two sides to end the year-long conflict sparked by a Hamas attack on Israeli towns in October 2022. At least 59 hostages now remain in Hamas captivity after several were freed in exchange for political prisoners in the past two months.
