Hamas says hostages will return in coffins if Israel continues military pressure

Gaza: Hamas has warned Israel that its “insistence” on getting hostages released through military pressure “will result in them returning to their families in coffins”.

“New instructions have been issued to the fighters charged with guarding the prisoners regarding how to deal with them if the Israeli army approaches the detention site,” Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in a statement on Monday.

Obeida said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army alone “bear full responsibility for the deaths of prisoners after they deliberately obstructed any prisoner exchange deal for narrow interests, in addition to their deliberate killing of dozens of them through direct aerial bombardment”, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Netanyahu’s insistence on releasing the prisoners under military pressure instead of closing a deal will result in them returning to their families in coffins and their families having to choose whether they are dead or alive,” he added.

The statement came after the recovery of the bodies of two women and four men from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were killed in a Hamas tunnel shortly before soldiers arrived.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis rallied across Israel on Sunday, demanding Netanyahu negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to secure the return of hostages held in Gaza.

IANS