Gaza’s ruling party, Hamas, has stated that it will not free any additional hostages until Israel consents to a ” full cessation of aggression.”
The militant group made its declaration in response to Israel’s assertion that, since the most recent truce, which saw the release of over 100 hostages, it had killed over 2,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza.
Even with the recent release of the hostages, 120 persons who were kidnapped on October 7th from Israel are still being held captive in Gaza.
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Israel is continuing its bombings in the north and south of Gaza, and Hamas is shooting rockets towards Tel Aviv, despite fresh attempts by the US to back a new UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian supplies for Gaza.
Israel may find it difficult to accept Hamas’s assertion that it is a Palestinian national decision to tie captive releases to an outright end to hostilities.
Israel has been forcing the release of captives by military action and rescue missions, but Hamas demands an end to aggression prior to holding any negotiations over prisoner exchanges or other agreements. The Israeli administration must make a difficult choice between pursuing military tactics and cajoling hostage relatives into adopting a different course of action.
The population of Gaza has suffered as a result of the fighting; since October 7, 20,057 people have died in total, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas. The situation is terrible; if conflicts continue, there could be hunger within six months. According to the World Health Organisation, a shortage of fuel, personnel, and supplies has left a hospital in northern Gaza non-operational.