Hamas says it has information that Israel intends to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted and threatened to “neutralise” the captives if any such action took place, according to an internal statement.
In the statement dated 22 November and seen by the Reuters news agency, Hamas told its operatives not to consider what the repercussions of following the instructions might be and said it held Israel responsible for the fate of the hostages.
The statement, which a senior Hamas source told Reuters was circulated to its factions by the intelligence unit of the group’s military wing Izz al-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, did not say when any Israeli operation was expected to take place.
There was no immediate Israeli response to the statement.
On Wednesday, Israeli media cited defence minister Israel Katz as saying pressure on Hamas was increasing, and this time “we will really be able to advance a hostage deal”.
During Israel’s Nuseirat rescue operation on 9 June, troops freed four hostages who had been held by Hamas since October 2023 in a raid Palestinian officials said killed more than 200 people, making it one of the deadliest Israeli assaults of the war.
In the Hamas statement, the group told its operatives to “tighten” the living conditions of the captives and said this should be done in accordance with instructions issued after the Nuseirat operation.
In a section titled “recommendations”, Hamas also instructed its operatives to “activate neutralisation orders … as an immediate and swift response to any adventure by the enemy”.
Andrey Kozlov, 27, is one of the four Israeli hostages who Hamas kidnapped from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. Source: Getty / Ilia Yefimovich
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had retrieved the body of Itay Svirsky, who was taken hostage on 7 October 2023 and then killed in Hamas captivity, according to a statement from the Israeli military.
A statement from the Hostages’ Families Forum, which represents families of those being held by Hamas, said that returning “Itay’s body for proper burial in Israel provides crucial closure for his family”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Svirsky’s body had been retrieved in a special operation.
Israel launched its latest campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 44,500 Palestinians and injured many others, according to Palestinian figures.
The offensive has reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza and that most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times.
