DUBAI (Reuters) – Hamas said it had information that Israel wanted to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to the one carried out in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to “abandon” the hostages if that happened, according to an insider. seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
In a statement on November 22, Hamas told its operatives not to consider what the consequences of following the orders would be and said it held Israel responsible for what happened to those held captive.
The statement, which a senior Hamas source told Reuters was circulated to their groups by the intelligence unit of the military group Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, did not say when the Israeli operation was expected to take place.
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There was no immediate Israeli response to the statement. On Wednesday, Israeli media quoted the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz as saying that the pressure on Hamas is increasing and this time “we will be able to advance the hostage agreement”.
Israel’s Nuseirat rescue on June 9 saw Israeli forces free four hostages, who had been held by Hamas since October 2023, in a raid that Palestinian officials said killed more than 200 people, making it one of Israel’s deadliest attacks of the war.
In a statement by Hamas, the group told its employees to “reinforce” the lives of the captives and said that this should be done according to the instructions issued after the Nuseirat operation.
In a section called “recommendation”, Hamas also ordered its staff to “activate neutralization orders… as a quick and immediate response to any enemy activity.”
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities across the border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israeli military attacks have killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and injured many others, according to Palestinian statistics. The attack has left many parts of Gaza in ruins.
(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Nadine Awadalla and Edmund Blair)