Hamas blames Israeli airstrikes for death of six captives in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A senior Hamas official stated on Sunday that the six Israelis recently found dead in Gaza were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes, challenging the Israeli army’s claim that Hamas executed them.

Izzat al-Rishq’s remarks came shortly after the Israeli army announced that it had discovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, asserting that they had been killed by Hamas.

“The ones who kill our people daily are the Israeli colonizers with American weapons. The hostages found in Gaza were not killed by us but by the relentless Zionist bombardment,” Rishq said in a statement.

He criticized the U.S., saying, “If President [Joe] Biden truly cares about the lives of Israeli hostages, he should cease his support for this enemy with money and weapons and pressure Israel to end its aggression immediately.”

Rishq emphasized that Hamas had been more concerned about the lives of the hostages than Biden himself, citing Hamas’ agreement to a cease-fire proposal and the UN Security Council’s resolution, both of which were rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Before the discovery, Israel had stated that 107 hostages remained in Gaza, some of whom were believed to have already been killed.

Hamas has said that dozens of hostages were killed by Israeli airstrikes targeting Gaza.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed nearly 40,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities. Its attacks have left Gaza in ruins, with severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice.