Hamas Says Ready To Release Hostages If Israel Stops Bombing: Report
A Hamas official said it is ready to release hostages if Israel stops bombing, as per NBC News.
Palestinian militant group Hamas has expressed a willingness to release those women and children it had held captive as the escalation between Hamas and Israel entered 11th day on Wednesday. As per a report published by NBC News, the group said it was ready to release hostages but also admitted that it does not have the custody of all the hostages seized after it launched surprise attacks on Israel on October 7, according to a diplomat with knowledge of the talks.
As per the report, some of the hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad while others are held by “random Gaza citizen opportunists,” said the former US official. Hamas, which controls Gaza, is trying to gain custody of the captives but says it cannot amid continued bombing.
A Hamas official told NBC News that the group is willing to immediately release all civilian hostages — foreign and Israeli — if Israel stops its airstrikes on Gaza.
The official said that the hostages could be released within the hour as long as Israel meets its terms, claiming that there is no safe place to release them now.
Last week, the Israeli Defence Forces said it had notified 199 families that members of their family have been held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip on Tuesday night was rocked after an Israeli airstrike struck a city hospital killing over 500 people where thousands had taken shelter and were receiving treatment.
The incident had drawn worldwide condemnation from world leaders including Joe Biden who is on a trip to Israel.
Over 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip so far, the Hamas-run health ministry said. More than 12,500 others have been wounded since the war began, following a shock Hamas assault on Israel that killed around 1,300 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians.
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