Hamas Admits Killing Hostages, Releases Video
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Hamas has admitted to killing hostages it abducted in Israel on October 7.
The group also released a video of slain hostage Eden Yerushalmi, who was among those killed in Gaza.
The spokesperson for Hamas’ armed al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, said Monday that they issued “new instructions” to guards on handling hostages if Israeli troops approach their holding sites, saying Israel was to blame for the deaths of those held.
“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the occupation army alone bear full responsibility for the deaths of the prisoners. They deliberately obstructed any prisoner exchange deal for their narrow interests and intentionally killed dozens of prisoners through direct airstrikes,” Abu Obaida said in a message on the social media platform Telegram.
“Let it be clear to everyone that, following the incident in Nuseirat, new instructions have been issued to the Mujahideen tasked with guarding the prisoners. These instructions outline how to handle the situation if the occupation army approaches the location where the prisoners are being held,” he added.
Hamas released a video of slain hostage Eden Yerushalmi before her death, giving a message directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has cleared the video for public viewing.
‘OUR EDEN’
“Our Eden, we love you too and miss you like crazy. You are forever in our hearts,” the family wrote.
The Nuseirat incident refers to Operation Arnon, in which four hostages were rescued from the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, which led to the deaths of at least 100 people, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimates, and nearly 300, according to Hamas.
The operation also led to the death of Arnon Zamora, for whom the operation was posthumously renamed.
The rescued hostages were Noa Argamani, 26; Andrey Kozlov, 27; Almog Meir Jan, 21; and Shlomi Ziv, 40.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare apology to the families of the six executed hostages. “I ask your apology for not succeeding in bringing them home alive,” he said.
Netanyahu made clear, however, that he would not cave on the issue of retaining a military force in the Philadelphi Corridor, a crucial area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt which has been used to smuggle weapons to the rest of Europe