Abu Obeida: We lost contact with group assigned to protect 4 captives

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
13 May 2024 20:15
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The spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades announces that contact was lost with a group of Resistance fighters who were guarding 4 Israeli captives, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli captive held in the Gaza Strip, addresses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government from captivity in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on April 24, 2024. (Al-Qassam Brigades/Military Media)

The military spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, announced, on Monday, the loss of contact with the group tasked with protecting a group of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted on his Telegram channel, Abu Obeida stated, "Due to the brutal Israeli bombardment over the past 10 days, we have lost contact with a group of our fighters guarding 4 Israeli captives, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin."

Last month, the Al-Qassam Brigades released a video message from Israeli captive Hirsch Goldberg-Polin in Gaza, where he appealed to his government's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers to secure the release of captives and resign from their positions.

'End this nightmare or quit'

Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, released a video of an Israeli settler it is holding captive in the Gaza Strip, in which he addressed Israeli settlers and occupation authorities.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli settler taken captive on October 7, 2023, sent a critical message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, as he remains held in captivity for more than 220 days in the Gaza Strip.

Goldberg-Polin, who has clearly sustained a number of injuries that were treated by al-Qassam fighters, including an injury that led to the amputation of his hand, said that he was taken captive from the Nova Music Festival outside the besieged Gaza Strip.

"I went out seeking entertainment with my friends. Instead, I found myself struggling to survive with several injuries across my body," the captive said as he gestured with his amputated hand.

"There was no there protect us that day," Golberg-Polin said angrily in clear criticism of Israeli authorities, who failed to anticipate the Palestinian Resistance's offensive, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

"Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, you should be ashamed of yourselves because you neglected us along with thousands of other citizens," the captive stressed.