BY Jesupemi Are
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the Palestinian Hamas militant group has taken at least 199 people hostage.
Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, said Hamas has also killed 291 service members of the force, adding that their families have been informed.
The hostages are believed to be mostly civilians.
“We are making every effort to understand where the prisoners are being held in Gaza. We already have this kind of information, and we will not strike in places where they could harm members of our people,” Hagari said.
“Hamas will not allow Gaza residents to flee to the south of the Gaza Strip. I once again call on the civilians of the Gaza Strip to flee to the south.
“Hamas has already proven its brutality against the citizens of Israel, and now it is demonstrating the same against the residents of Gaza and its surroundings.”
The United Kingdom has said 10 of its nationals are missing, although some of those missing were feared dead.
There are also believed to be about 20 United States citizens held hostage in Gaza.
Nasser Kanaani, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said Hamas was ready to release the nearly 200 hostages it is holding if Israel stopped its campaign of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas officials stated that they are ready to take necessary measures to release the citizens and civilians held by resistance groups, but their point was that such measures require preparations that are impossible under daily bombardment by the Zionists against various parts of Gaza,” Times of Israel quoted Kanaani as saying at a press conference.
However, the militant group has not acknowledged making such an offer.
On October 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented and coordinated land, air and sea incursion of Israel which reportedly killed 1,300 Israelis.
Hamas kidnapped at least 150 Israelis and took them into Gaza. Afterwards, the group commenced the launching of rockets into Israeli territory.
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