A Hamas official linked the release of hostages held in Gaza to a ceasefire in Israel’s bombardment of the enclave, launched after a deadly attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel nearly three weeks ago.
Israel says it is preparing a ground invasion but has been urged by the US and Arab countries to delay an operation that could increase civilian casualties in the densely populated coastal strip and spark a wider conflict. A poll published Friday showed that almost half of Israelis now wanted to delay a ground invasion for fear of at least 224 hostages being held there.
The number of hostages kidnapped from Israel and held by Hamas in Gaza has also been updated to 229. According to a Russian newspaper, a member of a Hamas delegation visiting Moscow said that time is needed to locate all those who have been kidnapped by several Palestinians. factions in the Hamas attack on October 7.
“They have captured dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them,” said Hamas official Abu Hamid. He said Hamas, which has so far released four hostages, had made clear its intention to release “civilian prisoners.” But this required a “calm environment,” he said.
Israel’s defense minister said Friday that it expects to soon launch a ground offensive in Gaza that will be long and difficult and aimed at destroying a vast network of tunnels used by the area’s militant Hamas rulers.
Yoav Gallant spoke to a small group of foreign reporters after Israeli forces, backed by fighter jets and drones, carried out a second ground attack on Gaza in as many days, hitting the outskirts of Gaza City. He said the ground invasion would involve large forces, backed by airstrikes, and “will take a long time,” without elaborating.
Meanwhile, the US on Friday imposed a second round of sanctions on the Palestinian militant group Hamas, following this month’s attack on Israel, which included a Hamas official in Iran and members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The measures target additional assets in a Hamas investment portfolio and people who facilitate sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies, the US Treasury Department said.
A senior Iranian envoy also met with Hamas representatives in Moscow after talks with Russian diplomats that underlined Moscow’s efforts to expand its influence as a power broker in the latest war between Israel and Hamas, Russian and Iranian media said on Friday.
US fighter jets attack Iran-linked sites in Syria US fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two sites in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Pentagon said, in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks on US bases and personnel in Syria. the region that started early last week. The US strikes reflect the Biden administration’s determination to maintain a delicate balance. Meanwhile, Iran warned that the US will not be left unaffected if the war between Hamas and Israel turns into a wider conflict.
At a glance
- Israel claims that Shadi Barud, the deputy head of Hamas’ intelligence department, was killed during an operation
- The US sends Ukraine an additional $150 million in weapons from stockpiles
- TikTok rejects Malaysian accusations that it blocks pro-Palestinian content
- Aid trucks allowed through an Egyptian border crossing so far have yielded only “crumbs,” says UNRWA chief Phillippe Lazzarini
- Hamas rejects Israeli accusation that hospitals are ‘surgery centers’
- Israel claims that Shadi Barud, the deputy head of Hamas’ intelligence department, was killed during an operation
- The US sends Ukraine an additional $150 million in weapons from stockpiles
- TikTok rejects Malaysian accusations that it blocks pro-Palestinian content
- Aid trucks allowed through an Egyptian border crossing so far have yielded only “crumbs,” says UNRWA chief Phillippe Lazzarini
- Hamas rejects Israeli accusation that hospitals are ‘surgery centers’