Hamas Official Delays Israeli Hostage Exchange, Denies Foreign Help in Attacks
Gaza, October 12 – A senior Hamas official has announced that it is premature to engage in negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages who were captured following the militant group’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
Speaking with CNN from Doha on Wednesday, Izzat al-Risheq stated, “We will only discuss this issue when the Israeli aggression against our people ends.”
Furthermore, the official denied any involvement of Iran or Hezbollah in Lebanon in orchestrating the large-scale attack on Israel, asserting, “I say it very clearly that this operation was a 100 per cent Hamas operation without any help from any regional party.”
On Monday, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations disclosed that Hamas was holding as many as 150 people hostage, including senior army officers, across Gaza.
That same day, Abu Obaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, warned that they would begin executing civilian hostages if Israel targeted people in the enclave without prior notice.
In a separate statement to CNN, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus indicated that authorities believe the hostages are being concealed underground.
“Reason dictates that they are underground. Reason also dictates that Hamas, since they planned to launch this attack and they planned to take these people hostage, reason dictates that they planned in advance locations to hide these hostages and keep them safe from Israeli intelligence, and efforts to get them out,” he explained.
Conricus stressed that the hostage situation is “an extremely sensitive and complex topic,” emphasizing that Israel has never faced a situation of this scope, magnitude, and complexity.
When discussing a potential Israeli ground invasion, Conricus noted, “It is clear and understandable that what needs to be done is that all of Hamas’ military capabilities need to be taken off the map. How that will happen, by what means, and what tactics, that is a few days in the future, maybe more than that.”
