The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, published a post on its Telegram channel on Saturday containing pictures of 46 Israeli captives, both dead and alive, in the Gaza Strip as "Israel" launches its invasion of Gaza City.

The post was accompanied by the message: "Due to Netanyahu's obstinacy and Zamir's submission; [here is] a farewell picture as the operation in Gaza began."

The post began with a picture of Ron Arad with the opening serial number "01", and beneath each subsequent captive's photo was Arad's name and a serial number assigned to each, implying that the captives held in Gaza would meet the same fate as Arad.

Ron Arad was an officer in the Israeli military whose plane was shot down over South Lebanon on October 16, 1986, and despite extensive searches, no conclusive evidence of his fate has ever been discovered.

'War criminal' Netanyahu solely responsible: Hamas

Hamas had previously issued a statement in the wake of the Israeli Prime Minister's announcement that ground forces were invading Gaza City, in which it held the "war criminal" Netanyahu solely responsible for the safety and lives of its Israeli captives being held in the Strip.

This comes as "Israel" pursues its plans to invade Gaza City, heightening the humanitarian suffering in the Strip.

On Friday, September 19, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that hospitals had received 33 individuals declared as martyrs over the preceding 24 hours, a figure which includes one body recovered from beneath the rubble, while also recording an additional 146 injuries.

Since the Israeli aggression on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, the cumulative number of casualties has reached 231,245, a total which includes 65,174 individuals reported as martyrs and 166,071 others reported as injuries. Since March 18, 2025, the reported casualty figures have reached 12,622 martyrs and 54,030 injuries, marking a staggering increase over a period of just six months.