Orders to 'deal with' captives if IOF nears their location: Abu Ubaida
3 Min Read
The al-Qassam spokesperson says that this decision was taken following the Nuseirat massacre committed by IOF last June.
-
Screengrab from a video released by al-Qassam showing X signs in boxes referring to the six dead Israeli captives retrieved by the IOF from Rafah, the video published on Sunday, September 1, 2024 (Military media)
Following the Israeli massacre in Nuseirat, Palestinian Resistance fighters have been given new instructions on how to "deal with" captives if Israeli occupation forces approach their place of detention in Gaza, the al-Qassam spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام تنشر فيديو بعنوان:
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) September 2, 2024
صفقة تبادل .. حرية وحياة
עסקת שבויים .. חירות וחיים
Exchange Deal.. Freedom & Life
ضغط عسكري .. موت وفشل
לחץ צבאי .. מוות וכישלון
Military Pressure.. Death & Failure #الوقت_ينفد#حكومتكم_تكذب pic.twitter.com/xiyekDf93S
The Israeli occupation army announced Sunday locating the bodies of six Israeli captives in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Among them was an Israeli-American soldier Hirsch Goldberg-Polin.
"We [announce this decision] to everyone, clearly and explicitly," Abu Ubeida said.
Read more: Hamas says Netanyahu chose Philadelphi Corridor over captives
He emphasized that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the occupation army bear full responsibility for the deaths of prisoners, having deliberately obstructed any prisoner exchange deal for narrow interests, and intentionally killing dozens of captives through direct airstrikes.
"It was made clear that Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing the prisoners through military pressure, rather than negotiating a deal, could result in their (captives) return to their families in coffins, leaving the families to choose between receiving them dead or alive," the spokesperson concluded.
The bloody Nuseirat massacre
A video released on Sunday by the al-Qassam Brigades confirmed previous reports that the six captives were supposed to be released in the first stage of the prisoner exchange deal being discussed during the mediated ceasefire talks, which was then sabotaged by "Israel".
"Netanyahu chose the Philadelphi Corridor over the liberation of your captives," the Resistance said in the video.
Israeli occupation forces launched last June a series of heavy airstrikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing over 200 Palestinians and wounding more than 400 in what was described as one of the bloodiest massacres since the war on Gaza began. "Israel" said that the attack was "part of an operation aimed at retrieving captives." While IOF located and brought back four captives, the attack killed several others, the Resistance announced then.
Read more: 'Bodies were in pieces, scattered in the streets': Nuseirat massacre
On a Haaretz podcast on Sunday, senior analyst Amos Harel argued that the recent death of captives has revealed to the Israeli public that Netanyahu's belief in military pressure as the sole means to secure captives' release is flawed.
"The outcome is clear to everybody: If in these operations, especially tunnels, we lose the element of surprise, there's a good chance more hostages will die under similar circumstances," he said then.
