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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Nearly 70 Israeli hostages killed in Gaza, Hamas says

A day earlier, Abu Ubaidah, a spokesman for the Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam military wing, threatened that hostages held in the Gaza Strip could repeat the fate of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who was kidnapped 36 years ago

CAIRO, April 24. /TASS/. About 70 Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been killed as a result of Israeli strikes on the Palestinian enclave, the Palestinian Hamas movement said.

On its official Telegram channel, Hamas published a video message from an alleged US citizen kidnapped on October 7, 2023, at a music festival in southern Israel. "About 70 hostages died as a result of [Israeli] air force bombings," the kidnapped man said. The young man added that while held captive by Hamas, he did not receive sufficient water and food, nor was he given proper medical care. No details on where or when the videotape may have been captured were given.

A day earlier, Abu Ubaidah, a spokesman for the Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam military wing, threatened that hostages held in the Gaza Strip could repeat the fate of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who was kidnapped 36 years ago.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank. On December 1, 2023, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire that had been in effect since November 24 and announced that it would resume fighting in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials blamed the United States for the renewed Israeli aggression.

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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